Why Am I Shaking After a Car Accident?
A car accident is a stressful event and can be a terrifying and upsetting thing to go through. Even what seems like a minor accident can mess with your emotions and make you feel weak and shaky. Whether driving or riding as a passenger, a car accident can cause both physical injuries and emotional distress. Due to the shock of a car accident, you might not immediately notice signs and symptoms of injury. This is called a delayed car accident injury. When you're in shock after an auto accident, you might feel lost and overwhelmed by what just happened.
Here's what you need to know about shaking and other signs of shock or emotional distress after a car accident and what that could mean for you.
Table Of Contents
- Post-traumatic Stress After A Car Accident
- Neurological Issues After A Car Accident
- Common Ways Car Accidents Cause Nerve Damage
- What Causes Post-Traumatic Tremors?
- What Are the Common Symptoms of a Post-Traumatic Tremor?
- Other Movement Disorders That Cause Shaking After Head Injury
- The Early Symptoms of Shock After a Major Accident
- How Adrenaline Can Hide Injuries from a Car Accident
- How To Stop Shaking After A Car Accident
Post-Traumatic Stress After a Car Accident
If you were in a car accident, you could show signs of post-traumatic stress after the accident. We often think of PTSD as only happening in extreme situations, but anyone can get it. If you go through a traumatic event, your body may react by giving you bad dreams or thoughts that won't leave you alone. It may also make you want to avoid specific thoughts or situations.
After a car accident, you might not want to get back behind the wheel or drive to the spot where it happened. If you or someone else were seriously hurt in the accident, you might feel overwhelmed by feelings of guilt and fear that it could happen again. Some people only have PTSD symptoms for a few days, while others may have them for months or even years after a car accident. After a traumatic event like a car accident, it can take a while for your mind to get heal the psychological shock, and post-traumatic stress can show up emotionally and physically.
Your body might physically react to the emotional stress of a traumatic event. You might notice having trouble breathing, shaking or trembling hands and arms, or muscle stiffness. Seeking private therapy can help you work through your emotions after the distressing situation to hopefully reduce the physical response to trauma in your daily life.
Neurological Issues After A Car Accident
Nerve issues or damage from a car accident can be excruciating and make it hard to work and complete other daily activities. It can also lead to unwanted emotional effects and mental health problems if the proper care isn't followed. If a neurological injury isn't treated, it can lead to a wide range of potential complications, such as crippling chronic pain, loss of strength, numbness and tingling in the upper and lower limbs, and drop foot.
Neurological problems need a complete and thorough medical evaluation. Accident victims with nerve damage and neurological problems may need months of medical treatment, care, occupational therapy or rehabilitation from a specialist. Although there is a range of treatment options, without a personalized treatment plan, you could be hurt for a long time or even for good. Along with getting medical attention and setting up a care plan, speaking with experienced car accident attorneys is essential to putting the ordeal behind you.
Common Ways Car Accidents Cause Nerve Damage
When you're in an accident, you can suffer different kinds of nerve damage, each with its own symptoms and ways to treat it. Pressure, stretching, or cutting the nerve are the three most common ways nerves are damaged. When it comes to car accidents, the most common ways your nerves can be hurt are:
- Whiplash – A severe jerking motion of the head and neck that causes the nerves in the cervical spine to stretch or be pinched
- Blunt-force trauma – Hitting your head, arms, or legs on a hard surface like a steering wheel can compress nerves
- Lacerations – Deep cuts to the skin sustained during a motor vehicle accident can sever the nerves in the affected area.
Other less common ways an individual can sustain and suffer from nerve injury also exist.
What Causes Post-Traumatic Tremors?
Damage to the parts of the brain that control movement, like the cerebral cortex, frontal lobe, thalamus, basal ganglia, or cerebellum, is usually the cause of post-traumatic tremors.
Besides a traumatic brain injury, tremors can happen on their own or as a result of multiple sclerosis, a stroke, or a neurodegenerative disease like Parkinson's.
But sometimes tremors are caused by conditions that aren't neurological, such as:
- Alcohol abuse or withdrawals
- Mercury poisoning
- Anxiety and panic
- Overactive thyroid
- Kidney or liver failure
Tremors can also be a side effect of asthma medicine or other drugs, like amphetamines, corticosteroids, psychiatric drugs, and even caffeine. Seeking medical attention and discussing your post-traumatic tremors with your doctor is important to get a correct diagnosis.
What Are the Common Symptoms of a Post-Traumatic Tremor?
One of the most apparent signs of a tremor after a head injury is shaking. It can happen in the hands, arms, legs, head, and torso, among other places.
There may be other signs along with tremors, such as:
- Difficulty writing or drawing
- Difficulty holding objects steadily like utensils
- Trembling or shaky voice
After a head injury, tremors can be brought on or made worse by fatigue, strong emotions like stress, and specific postures or movements.
To deal with these symptoms, it helps to be aware of what sets them off and what's going on around you.
Other Movement Disorders That Cause Shaking After Head Injury
Even though shaking after a head injury can be a tremor, it is often mistaken for other types of uncontrollable movement, like clonus or muscle spasms. Since treatment depends on the cause, it's essential to tell the difference between tremors and other conditions that can look similar.
- Muscle spasms: Muscle spasms happen when a muscle contracts on its own, but the rate at which it contracts can vary and be random. A tremor, on the other hand, usually moves rhythmically. Tremors are also not painful, but muscle spasms can make the body twist and hurt a lot. If your muscles are moving without control, look for a rhythm and pain as two key ways to tell them apart.
- Clonus: Clonus is another type of movement often confused with tremors because it has similar symptoms, like shaking rhythmically without pain and mainly in the arms and legs. But one of the main ways to tell if someone has a clonus is when they stretch their muscles. When the affected limb is stretched, the shaking starts and even worsens. This is the opposite of tremors.
The Early Symptoms of Shock After a Major Accident
Some of the first signs of shock include, but are not limited to, the following physiological responses:
- Confusion or unresponsiveness
- Seizures
- Rapid pulse
- Cold, clammy skin
- Fast, shallow breathing
- Excessive sweating
- Loss of consciousness
- Dizziness
- Pale skin
- Chest pain
- Anxiety or agitation
- High blood pressure
- Enlarged pupils
- Weakness
- Nausea or vomiting
How Adrenaline Can Hide Injuries from a Car Accident
Adrenaline is a hormone that helps start the fight or flight response so that your body is ready to handle a dangerous situation.
When adrenaline rushes through your body after a scary accident like a car crash, your body can better deal with the stressful situation and it helps you think more clearly and stay safe.
Pain and other symptoms can also be hidden by adrenaline.
People often call the effect of adrenaline "stress-induced analgesia." This means that it can make you feel no pain, even if you have a severe injury that must be taken care of immediately.
As soon as the accident happens, adrenaline can help you keep your cool and stay calm while you check on yourself and others to ensure you are safe or get the help you need.
Once your body realizes you are in a safe place and out of a stressful situation, the adrenaline may leave your body and leave you feeling shaky, tired, weak, and cold.
How To Stop Shaking After A Car Accident
After an accident, you'll want to take a few seconds to breathe deeply. Deep breaths help you get your mind back on track and give your brain and body the oxygen they need to deal with the stress. You might not be able to stop shaking until the shock and adrenaline wear off, so when you get home after a stressful event, make sure you have time to rest and unwind.
A chiropractor at the Arrowhead Clinic in Georgia will perform a thorough physical exam to see if you hurt your neck or spine. Once they know what's wrong, they'll use chiropractic adjustments to realign your spine. This puts your body in the best position to start the healing process and get better as soon as possible.
They can also put you in touch with a personal injury lawyer if another driver's carelessness caused your accident.
Call Arrowhead Clinic or click the button below to schedule a free consultation with one of our accident doctors and get pain relief from common car accident injuries. We can refer you to a personal injury attorney as well to help with any of your injury claims.
References:
https://www.thomaslawoffices.com/blog/auto-accident/early-warning-signs-shock-major-accident/
https://www.dolmanlaw.com/blog/neurological-issues-car-accident/
https://www.flintrehab.com/tremors-after-brain-injury/
https://www.marietta-chiropractor.com/why-am-i-shaking-after-a-car-accident/
