How to Adapt to Mobility Loss

An unexpected accident, like a motor vehicle crash or workplace injury, can be devastating, especially if you receive injuries.

One of the worst long-lasting effects of your injuries is mobility loss.

Mobility loss can range from temporary and mild to severe and permanent. Adapting to mobility loss can take a toll on your emotional and mental health, not to mention your finances.

If you or a loved one is suffering from mobility loss after an accident, a personal injury attorney at the Cox Law Firm can help. Call our Lake Charles office at 337-436-6611 or fill out an online form today.

What is mobility loss?

Mobility is the ability to move freely, thanks to healthy muscles, bones, and joints. Mobility allows us to perform everyday actions like walking, sitting, or standing with ease and comfort.

It also allows us to engage in our favorite hobbies, like gardening or hiking, as well as regular tasks like grocery shopping or tidying up our home.

We experience mobility loss when we’re unable to perform these actions or activities as comfortably as we used to. Loss of movement may occur when a joint, muscle, or bone is less mobile.

Our mobility decreases naturally as we age. However, when it is taken away from us due to injuries acquired in a severe accident, mobility loss can be exceptionally frustrating — and is often ongoing.

What kinds of injuries may lead to mobility loss?

Motor vehicle accidents, workplace injuries, and other accidents can lead to mobility loss suddenly or over a long period of time.

Neck injuries

Every motor vehicle accident is unique in how it’s caused, what occurs, and how those involved are injured. The injuries you might sustain in a motor vehicle accident vary widely, but there are some injuries that may be considered common in certain types of accidents.

Whiplash is one of them. Whiplash is when the neck jerks back and forth during impact in an accident. It can resolve on its own with time, but some people may experience a lack of mobility in their neck, and even long-term flexibility issues if they try to turn their head.

Spine injuries

More severe injuries to the neck and spine can lead to mobility loss. In a car accident, on-the-job injury, or even a severe slip-and-fall, you might suffer from a herniated disc. Intervertebral discs cushion the bones of your spine and absorb impact.

Sudden and severe impact, however, can push a disc out of place and cause intense pain. This injury can lead to mobility loss and chronic pain.

Brain injuries

A bump, blow, or jolt to the head may also lead to mobility loss. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of disability in the United States.

In 2014, an average of 155 people in the U.S. died each day from injuries that included a TBI. Lasting effects of a TBI can include mobility loss, as well as impaired thinking, sensation, or emotional functioning.

Treatments and therapy for mobility loss

It can be difficult to handle the effects of mobility loss. However, there are treatments and medical advancements that can help people regain mobility or cope with decreased mobility after an injury.

Chiropractic care

Auto accidents, workplace injuries, and other accidents can cause spine misalignment. In turn, this can cause back pain, neck pain, or mobility loss.

Chiropractic care is a common non-invasive treatment that can restore your spinal health, helping you rebuild strength, coordination, and balance. A chiropractor may help you regain mobility by realigning the spine, massaging tight muscles, and strengthening your body through stretches and exercises.

Physical therapy

Undergoing physical therapy after an accident may help you recover more quickly. It can also prevent long-term damage, reduce pain, and ease mobility loss.

Physical therapy typically involves techniques like massage, specific exercises meant to target certain body parts, strength training, and more.

A physical therapist will pinpoint the underlying issues or injuries causing you pain or limiting your mobility. They’ll then develop a custom treatment plan to address and ease mobility loss.

Mobility devices

Depending on the cause of mobility loss, a doctor may recommend mobility devices to help you recover.

Mobility devices may include:

• Manual or electric wheelchairs
• Crutches
• Canes
• Walkers
• Prosthetic limbs
• Scooters

Technology is rapidly advancing, and those who rely on these aids and devices can enjoy more independence and functionality. For example, new manual wheelchair designs increase efficiency and decrease repetitive strain on the user’s shoulders and wrists.

New mobility treatments

As technology improves, there are a number of other mobility treatment options that may be available. For one, functional electrical stimulation is a promising mobility technology; a small device delivers electrical impulses to stimulate muscles, causing them to move. Functional electrical stimulation may help those who need assistance or support with walking.

Gene therapy also offers promising results for people with mobility loss.

Healthy habits and prevention

Although mobility loss is common with age, it can be prevented with regular exercises that improve flexibility, strength, balance, and endurance. Simple exercises like modified squats, balancing on one leg, stretching the hamstrings and calves, and going on routine walks over varied terrain can maintain mobility as you grow older.

Whatever is possible to you with limited mobility, a physical therapist can help you find a regimen that keeps your body from losing further mobility.

Find an attorney to help with the financial costs of your mobility loss

Adapting to mobility loss can put a strain on a family’s financial resources, not to mention a victim’s physical, mental, and emotional health.

If your mobility loss stems from an accident caused by someone else’s actions or negligence, you may be able to seek the compensation you deserve for your pain.

The Cox Law Firm represents families in Louisiana through our Lake Charles office. To schedule a free consultation with one of our personal injury attorneys, call 337-436-6611 or fill out an online form today.

Be sure to follow the Cox Law Firm Facebook page for more resources and news updates. We’ll work with you on a contingent-fee basis, which means you don’t pay anything unless we win your case.