We all fall once in a while, both figuratively and literally. Most of the time when we literally fall, we can get up with no real harm done. However, sometimes we can seem fine at first but in truth you could have suffered a serious injury. Slip and falls can be particularly dangerous, where a person walk away thinking they’re fine, only to have them develop signs of a previously-undetected injury as a result of the fall.
There are a few telltale signs that you need to see a doctor after a slip and fall. Looking out for these signs could potentially mean the difference between receiving early treatment and dealing with a much more complicated condition. So, what are some signs you need to look out for?
Spinal Cord Injuries
Spinal cord injuries occur when the spinal cord is severed or compressed. These injuries are very dangerous and they always require immediate medical attention and they are also the most costly injuries to treat. This is because spinal cord injuries could result in paraplegia, or worse, quadriplegia, depending on how high up the spinal cord the injury is.
Broken Bones
Contrary to popular belief, even when you’re able to move a joint, the bone connected to the joint is not broken. In fact, the only way to determine whether a bone is broken or not is through an X-ray. Broken bones not only impede your ability to perform daily tasks, but they also cause you chronic pain and they also make you more fragile.
Soft Tissue Injuries
Soft tissue injuries can range from minor ankle and wrist sprains to tendon and ligament tears. These can be rather tricky because they can be difficult to detect from several days up to a week. If left untreated, soft tissue injuries can cause chronic pain, which will also make simple tasks significantly more difficult. The damage will even worsen if you continue to use the parts connected to the soft tissue.
Cuts And Abrasions
While cuts and abrasions may look significantly more severe than most of the other injuries on this list, they are not as threatening as these usually only require superficial treatment. However, they shouldn’t be ignored given the fact that if they are severe enough, cuts and abrasions may be indications of more serious underlying injuries like the ones listed in this article.
Head Injuries
Head injuries are among the most dangerous injuries you can sustain because the brain is located in the head. Minor concussions usually go away on their own, but traumatic brain injuries can leave permanent damage and they are also difficult to detect. If you injure your head, you have to go see your doctor no matter how minor it may be or how fine you may feel. It’s also important to spread awareness on TBI so that others are more likely to take preventive and corrective measures when it does occur. Head injuries are among the most dangerous types of injuries because of how it can happen anytime and anywhere. There are many cases of people who got into a fight and ended up losing their lives because they were knocked to the ground.
Lower Back Pain
Any type of back pain should be treated as a serious matter because of its proximity to your spinal cord. However, when you experience pain in your lower back, this can be indicative of a slipped disc, which can cause pain and numbness to an entire side of your body. This happens when the disc puts undue pressure on the nerves and blood vessels around the disc. If this type of injury is left untreated, it could severely degrade your posture, cause frequent muscle spasms, or worse, it could also lead to permanent nerve damage.
Nerves are what transmit signals to and from the brain and the corresponding muscle. A damaged nerve could cause the associated muscle to cease functioning properly. Back pains are especially common when you fall on your back, which is most of the time.
Slips and falls are dangerous because of how you can potentially break a bone or injure your head. A seemingly minor accident can yield permanent damage if you aren’t careful. It’s because of this innate danger that most establishments are required to take safety measures to prevent these types of accidents.
If you’ve had an accident because of an establishment’s failure to observe safety standards, you might want to get in touch with a seasoned personal injury lawyer like these Seattle Personal Injury Attorneys to help you get due compensation for your accident. So, stay safe, stay alert, and don’t take any injury for granted.