9 Possible Injury Symptoms After A Slip And Fall

Slip and fall accidents are common. It’s reported that over 10 million people are injured every year through this type of accident. The Center For Disease Control has reported that trips and falls are the most significant cause of non-fatal injuries in America. If you find yourself in this situation, you could harm one or several parts of your body. Below are some of the possible injury symptoms you could incur.

1. Cuts and Bruises

Cuts and bruises are common slip and fall injury symptoms. Although they may sometimes appear minor, bruises could be a sign of more serious injuries beneath the skin. In case you didn’t know what to do after a slip and fall, the first thing is to stay calm and examine yourself for any signs of injury. Bruises and cuts are some of the obvious signs to look out for.

2. Tense Muscles

Sometimes when you slip and fall, you pull or twist your muscles. This could result in injury to the muscles or tendons. Also, you might turn your body during a fall, and that could lead to stress or broken muscles and tendons. These can appear minor at first, but they could complicate into a more severe injury. Damaged tendons are said to take longer to repair because of limited blood flow.

3. Painful Wrists and Ankles

It’s not uncommon for you to sprain your wrist or ankle during a fall. In your instinct to protect your body, you’ll generally try to land on your arms, and this could result in injury to your ankles or wrists. If you think you’ve sprained your wrist or ankle, it’s always good to get it checked out in case it’s broken.

4. Painful Collarbone or Shoulder

If you slip and fall forward or sideways, there’s also a chance you could lend on your shoulder. If you feel an excruciating sensation in your shoulder area, odds are you could have fractured or broken your collarbone. Injuries to the collarbone can be severely painful, but healing is said to be considerably fast.

5. Inability to Move Your Arm

Sometimes you might fail to move your arm after a slip and fall. If there is a visibly deformed look on your shoulder, there is a possibility that you’ve dislocated it. A dislocated shoulder can be quite painful. There might be some swelling in the shoulder area as well. A dislocated shoulder is reported to be easier to resolve than a broken collarbone.

6. Painful Knee

If you land on your knees during a slip and fall, there’s a possibility you could injure the knee. Symptoms of an injured knee can also include pain, restricted knee bending, and a physically deformed knee. Possible injuries can consist of fractured tendons or dislocated or fractured patella.

7. Hip Pain

If you feel pain and swelling of the hip after a fall, then you could have suffered a hip injury. Hip injuries are common in people over 65 years. The symptoms of hip injuries can also include lower back pain and pain in the knees.

8. Extreme Back Pain or Pressure in Your Neck and Head

If you land on your back after a trip and fall, you could injure your spinal cord. The symptoms of spinal cord injuries also include weakness, uncoordinated body movements, numbness, tingling, or lack of sensation in your limbs. A back injury can be the most severe of all slip and fall injuries. It’s always advised to seek medical attention if you land on your back during a slip and fall.

9. Intense or Sudden Headaches That Worsen

If you fall and hit your head, there is a possibility of incurring a head injury. The symptoms of head injuries include dizziness, nausea, and a throbbing headache. When you trip and fall on your head, you may only feel a mild headache which can mislead you into thinking that you’re okay. But some brain injuries might only show a couple of weeks after the injury.

Conclusion

Although slip and fall accidents are common, most people suffer in silence and assume responsibility for their fall. Some injuries may not appear immediately after the fall but could take weeks or months to show up. Paying attention to your body could be helpful in quickly identifying a slip and fall injury before it’s too late. When you slip and fall, it’s always advisable to seek a medical check-up just in case there are serious internal injuries.