Whiplash? why does it hurt the next day?

i got hit by a car today.. im fine .. but i know im gonna be hurting tommorow..
why does that happen?
i want to be in pain now and get it over with..!!!

oh and i was on my bike
im an idiot.

I don't want to get technical so I will try to make it simple. When you have a sudden movement, your muscles tighten to protect you in a way. They generally release immediately, but the trauma of that impact still affects the muscle. I guess it is similar to when you work out really hard, you might not be sore today, but you might ache tomorrow or the next few days.

When something like a car accident happens, your body is pumped full of adrenaline. It wards off the pain. You only start feeling the pain later on as the adrenaline rush dies down.

When something like a car accident happens, your body is pumped full of adrenaline. It wards off the pain. You only start feeling the pain later on as the adrenaline rush dies down.

I WAS IN A CAR ACCDINET 4 MONTHS AGAO IAM STILL FELLING EVERYDAY PAIN

YUP adrenaline masks the pain, AND

its used so that you DON'T focus on the pain when you get hurt. Instead, the chem lets you focus on deciding whether to run away to safety OR to fight your attacker to the death. AKA fight or flight syndrome. You couldn't run far or fight well if you where in a lot of pain. (other things happen in your pupils, skin, heart, lungs, intestines, bladder and kidneys but thats too much info)

Adrenaline stays in the body for about 8 to 10 hours. When it is "gone" your pain will begin to surface.

Even if you rethink the events of the wreck, your body will create more adrenaline. It might actually help you feel better.

Also, swelling.
When the body reacts physically to an injury, it has to create/relocate fluids into the area. It does take time. It cushions the area from extra damage and isolates movement around that area to reduce future complications.

When you swell, the surrounding nerves feel its pressure and it becomes uncomfortable.

to combat the effects of pain,
(check with doctor first if need be)
RUN.....
Running also triggers more adrenaline since its part of flight or fight. Running is very stressful on our bodies and can become quite painful overtime. Then our brains create another chemical (endorphins) to counteract the pain, and its actually quit addictive
It's chemical structure does resemble the structure of opiates. such as vicodine, morphine, and heroin. All these chemicals interact with the opiate receptors in our brain the same way.

so, if you can take the pain, go for a short jog.
When you get back you might just space the pain for a while.

Keep the swelling down........
use ice packs, and also use some NSAIDs......
(Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, they fight the swelling and the pain)

like Ibuprofen

heres a big list of NSAIDs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-steroid...

whoa whoa whoa did you say someone hit you with a car while you where on your bike?
I'd take it up with the insurance company.........

I'm extremely sorry to hear that you got hit by a car while riding, but I'm elated that you weren't seriously injured. Unfortunately I don't have a quick fix for your bruises and aches, but count yourself lucky and I wish you a speedy recovery.