Motorcycle accident injuries run to limb trauma, shoulder and collarbone injury, road rash and head injury. That holds even for riders who wore a helmet. Nerve pain, complex regional pain syndrome and pain after surgery usually show up two to six months later.
A rider has nothing around them. That changes both the injuries and the recovery.
What are the most common motorcycle accident injuries?
There is no passenger cell. So the crash sends its energy straight into the body and then into the road. The injuries look different from a car crash. There is more limb trauma, more shoulder and clavicle (collarbone) injury, and more road rash. There is also a higher rate of significant head injury, even with a helmet.
For pain care, this means riders more often come in with many injuries at once. Several have already had surgery. And the pain that lingers has never been looked at as a whole.
What happens in the months after a motorcycle accident?
Immediate
Acute trauma is handled in the hospital. Broken bones, internal injury and head trauma come first, and they should.
The weeks after discharge
This is where pain problems start to get missed. Everyone is watching the bones heal and the wounds close. The spine, the shoulder and the nerve injuries often go unchecked.
Two to six months
Lasting nerve pain, complex regional pain syndrome and pain after surgery usually show up here. Catching CRPS early changes the outcome by a wide margin.
Beyond six months
The window for a simple recovery gets smaller. Pain that has lasted this long needs a specific diagnosis, not more time.
Which motorcycle accident injuries get missed?
Brachial plexus injury is the one that matters most to catch early. The brachial plexus is the bundle of nerves that runs from the neck to the arm. A rider can land on the shoulder while the neck is forced the other way. That can stretch or avulse (tear out) those nerves. For months, the weakness is sometimes blamed on pain inhibition (muscles holding back because of pain) or a rotator cuff problem.
Complex regional pain syndrome is unusually common after limb trauma and surgery. It is also the condition where delay costs the most. Pain far beyond what the injury explains, with changes in color, temperature or swelling, should be checked within weeks.
Pain after surgery to repair a broken bone is its own problem. Irritation from the hardware, a nerve trapped in scar tissue and CRPS all look alike. All of them can be treated once we tell them apart.
When to get help immediately
Come back urgently for weakness in a limb that is getting worse, a limb that turns cold, pale or dusky, pain that keeps climbing far past the injury, fever with fluid from a wound, or any change in feeling around the groin or in bladder or bowel function.
To be seen, call or text us. We are at 12174 Natural Bridge Rd, Suite 110, St. Louis, MO 63044. No referral is needed and no attorney is required. See accident and injury care.
Common questions
My fractures healed but I still hurt. Is that normal?
Common, and not something to accept. Pain that lasts after a fracture heals usually has a cause we can find: a trapped nerve, irritation from the hardware, or CRPS.
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome After Surgery covers one of those causes and what it gets confused with.
I have numbness and weakness in my arm since the crash. What is that?
It needs a proper workup. Nerve conduction testing tells apart a brachial plexus injury, a cervical root problem (a pinched nerve in the neck) and a peripheral nerve injury. Each one is treated differently.
EMG and Nerve Conduction Study explains what the test involves.
Can you work alongside my surgeon?
Yes, and we write to them. Pain care and fracture care are separate jobs. Each needs to know what the other is doing.
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome After Surgery describes how we work with your other clinicians.
What is the most common injury in a motorcycle accident?
Riders take more limb trauma, shoulder and collarbone injuries, road rash and head injuries than people in cars, because there is no passenger cell around them. The crash energy goes straight into the body and then into the road. Head injury happens even with a helmet. Many riders come in with several injuries at once, some already treated with surgery.
When does nerve pain or CRPS start after a motorcycle crash?
Lasting nerve pain, complex regional pain syndrome and pain after surgery usually show up two to six months after the crash. By then, the fractures and wounds have had their turn. CRPS is the one where delay costs the most. Pain far beyond what the injury explains, with changes in skin color, temperature or swelling, should be checked within weeks.
Do I need a referral or an attorney to be seen after a motorcycle accident?
No. No referral is needed and no attorney is required. Call or text us and we will see you at 12174 Natural Bridge Rd, Suite 110, in St. Louis. We look at the spine, the shoulder and the nerves as a whole, because those are the injuries that get skipped while fractures and wounds heal.
Sources
- Nolet PS et al. Exposure to a motor vehicle collision and the risk of future back pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Accident; analysis and prevention, 2020. PubMed 32438092
- Smits EJ et al. Expert consensus and perspectives on recovery following road traffic crashes: a Delphi study. Disability and rehabilitation, 2022. PubMed 33305970
- Levin HS et al. Diagnosis, prognosis, and clinical management of mild traumatic brain injury. The Lancet. Neurology, 2015. PubMed 25801547
- Cunha-Diniz F et al. Trauma outcomes in nonfatal road traffic accidents: a Portuguese medico-legal approach. Forensic sciences research, 2022. PubMed 36353310
Hurt in an accident? Start here.
You do not need a lawyer, a police report or a referral to be seen. Bring your symptoms and we will work out the rest.
Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Same-day appointments are often available for new accident and injury patients.