The Ultimate Guide to Car Crash Leg Injuries

The Ultimate Guide to Car Crash Leg Injuries

When most people think of car crash injuries they typically think of back injuries or concussions and TBIs. One of the most common injuries caused by an auto accident, however, are from the waist down. Car crash leg injuries are so common, in fact, that nearly 40% of all frontal crash victims suffer some form of leg injury.

Modern automobiles offer painfully little protection for the legs of drivers and riders in the event of a car accident. Safety implements such as seat belts and airbags do an outstanding job keeping the upper body and head safe, but do little to protect the lower extremities. This guide will help explain the more common car crash leg injuries you could face if you have been or ever are in an auto accident.

What Kind of Leg Injury Do I Have?

The legs are compact bundles of muscles, bones, tendons, veins, and nerves. Indeed, nearly half the bones in the human body are located from the waist on down. Even a simple leg injury can cause a cascade of further injuries to other parts of the leg and even up to the back and neck. Below are the most frequently reported car crash leg injuries.

Shattered or Broken Bones

Due to how little space automobiles provide for leg room, virtually every bone in the legs are at risk of being broken, fractured, or shattered. Most times, these breaks are easy to repair, requiring little more than a cast and possibly a set of crutches. Some breaks, though, are much more severe may require surgery in order to heal properly. Surgeons may even need to implant rods, bolts, or screws to keep the broken bones in place. Car accident victims who believe they have suffered a broken or shattered bone should look for the following symptoms: severe pain, not being able to stand, swelling, and even bone fragments that protrude through the skin.

ACL Injury

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) is one of two cruciate ligaments that helps move the knee back and forth. The ACL connects the tibia bone to the femur, helping the human body maintain its upright position. An ACL injury is one of the most extremely painful car crash leg injuries to bear. Victims who suffer an ACL injury should expect weakness in their lower extremities, popping joints, and excessive swelling. Unfortunately, the best way to treat an ACL car crash leg injury is to undergo surgery and prolonged periods of physical therapy.

Torn Meniscus

The meniscus is a stretch of cartilage located in the knee joint. A meniscus tear usually occurs when the knee is twisted incorrectly in a rotating manner. Symptoms of a torn meniscus car crash leg injury are typically severe pain, excessive swelling and stiffness, and difficulty walking. Similar to an ACL injury, surgery is the best option to help heal a torn meniscus. Victims should also undergo physical therapy sessions.

Burstitis

Burstitis is another common car crash leg injury victims often suffer from. Burstitis is an inflammation of a bursae sac that contains synovial fluid. The human body holds up to 150 bursae so the chances of a car crash causing bursitis by rupturing a bursae in the legs or lower body are fairly high. Bursae help pad the knees, muscles, and tendons. When they burst car crash victims find it difficult to move their hips, knees, and ankles due to excessive swelling and pain. If a car crash victim’s bursitis is not infected, then a standard treatment of rest, ice, elevation, stretching, and anti-inflammatory drugs are the best possible solution. However, if the bursae is infected then a more rigorous treatment of antibiotic therapy might be required.

Car Accident Leg Injury Treatment

Legs are one of the most important parts of the human body. Sadly, they are too often taken for granted. When a car accident victim suffers a leg injury and finds they no longer have a properly functioning pair of legs, routine tasks such as walking, running, or jumping are impossible to perform. No one wants to live without a legs that work as they are intended. This is why obtaining medical treatment for car crash leg injuries is so very important. Below are the most common treatment options for victims who have suffered car crash leg injuries:

Casts

A doctor or a healthcare professional can mold a plaster or fiberglass cast made specially conformed to fit a car crash victim’s broken leg. Such casts are used to keep the leg in a particular position so the fractured or broken bones can better heal back into their proper position.

Metallic Screws and Bolts

When a fracture or break is too severe, doctors are often forced to resort to bolts and screws to fuse damaged bones back together. Medical professionals will often use such metallic screws and rods to reconnect the broken bones, only removing them once the injured areas have fully healed.

Walkers and Crutches

Doctors frequently require patients who suffer even the most minor leg injuries to use walkers or crutches to move about with during their recovery period. Victims have many options to choose from when it comes to their choice in walkers that can help prevent them from further exacerbating their car crash leg injuries, such as canes, metallic walkers, crutches, and motorized scooters.

Leg injuries often take weeks or even months to properly heal. The time frame largely depends on how devastating a crash a victim experienced and how quickly they sought out medical treatment. Oftentimes, the sooner a car crash leg injury victim gets back on the road to recovery the better off they’ll be in the future.

The Montana Advocates

If you’ve been injured in a car accident and are suffering from car crash leg injuries, then you will need the legal expertise of a Montana Advocate. Our car accident attorneys know how to help accident victims get the compensation they deserve for their injuries and losses. Don’t hesitate to contact our office today for a free consultation about your personal injury case. You can either call us at (406) 272-6986 or chat online right now from our homepage. Know that when you hire an Advocate to represent your car accident claim, your recovery will always be our first priority. You deserve an Advocate!