Soft Tissue Injuries Can Disrupt Your Life

When you think of serious injuries, you may think of broken bones or head injuries. Supposedly minor injuries, however, can have significant impacts on your life—for example, soft tissue injuries. Soft tissue includes your muscles, ligaments, and tendons. These tissues help facilitate movements and are more important than many people imagine. Once you damage your soft tissue, you can realize how much pain, and how many limits, those injuries can cause.

Types of Soft Tissue Injuries

You can injure your soft tissue in three primary ways:

1. Sprains – Sprains occur when a ligament is overly stretched or twisted. Ligaments hold together your various bones, and when stretched too much, they can restrict your movement and cause terrible pain.
2. Strains – A strain is similar to a sprain, but it involves stretching or twisting the tendons and muscles. Whiplash is a common example of strain to the neck muscles or tendons.
3. Tears – A severe sprain or strain can actually tear the tissue. This can often immediately immobilize someone, because the tissue can’t provide stability.

Some soft tissue injuries may cause greater pain or immobility than others, but all of them can cause lasting pain and require medical treatments.

Common Causes of Soft Tissue Injuries

Overuse causes some soft tissue injuries. Acute trauma can also result in soft tissue injuries, including from:

• Car accidents
• Bicycle accidents
• Truck accidents
• Pedestrian accidents
• Slips and falls
• Falls from high places or down stairs
• Sports accidents
• Construction accidents
• Workplace accidents

Treatments and Losses

After an accident, an injury victim may feel discomfort or immediate pain. If you believe you were injured, seek medical attention as soon as possible. An emergency department doctor can conduct tests to diagnose or rule out any fractures or soft tissue injuries. This is especially important with severe injuries such as tears.

After diagnosing them, doctors may send some injury patients home to rest, apply ice, use compression, and elevate the injured body part—known as the RICE treatment. If an injury does not heal with the RICE treatment, a patient may need physical therapy to strengthen the soft tissue.

People with torn soft tissue may need surgery to repair the tear. This can mean weeks or months of not being able to use that body part. This can mean time off from work and lost income due to the injury.

A New London Personal Injury Law Firm May Help You

Soft tissue injuries can result in medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and more. If another person caused your accident, hold them liable for your losses. To learn about your rights and options, please call the personal injury attorneys at Polito & Harrington for a free consultation. Call today at (860) 447-3300 or contact us online.