Living with chronic pain after an accident

Some injuries that you suffer in a car accident may never fully heal. This can lead to chronic pain. Doctors may warn you that all they can do is treat the symptoms — by giving you painkillers — but they cannot necessarily help you overcome the cause of those symptoms.

What is it like to live with chronic pain? It can be draining. Other people probably will not really understand how you feel. They won’t understand how it impacts your day. This can get frustrating and feeling like you’re the only one with this “invisible” problem can really take a toll.

The other thing about chronic pain is that the way you feel isn’t linear. It’s not always getting better or moving in the same direction. Some days are hard. Some are easy. Every morning, you may wake up with no real idea what that day holds.

One thing that those with chronic pain are quick to point out is that even treatment doesn’t always bring them back to “normal.” You could take painkillers every single day for the rest of your life, and they may help to dull that pain, but that doesn’t mean you will ever have another day that feels the way you felt before the accident.

Chronic pain can impact your relationships, your ability to work, your ability to participate in your favorite hobbies, and much more. It can change your life forever, and that is costly on many different levels. If you initially got injured in a crash caused by another driver, you may be able to seek out financial compensation.