Question
Hi.  I was involved in a car accident and suffered injuries.

I'm much better than I was but still having some pain.

How do I know if my injuries are temporary and will slowly fade or if I will have trouble for life?

Any advice or information regarding accidents & insurance companies, etc... would be appreciate.  THANK!  :)  Janice

Answer
Janice,

Most such injuries involve muscular contractions in reaction to the shock / pain of injury.  Those contractions cause pain and stiffness and can be relieved by retraining the muscles involved.  No healing is involved with such contractions, as no injury is involved; it's a reaction of the neuromuscular system.

To know if the injuries are temporary, feel with your hand in the area of pain (while lying down).  If you feel hard, contracted muscles, the pain is temporary and correctable (although possibly not self-correcting without deliberate retraining).  If the musculature is soft and relaxed and you have pain, the problem is more complicated and may require medical tests.  If such tests show nothing, then you probably have muscular contractions in other areas than the ones you felt.  

I would recommend seeing a practitioner of somatic education (access to list at somatics.com, top of page).  Self-help resources are also available (somatics.com/page7.htm).

I can't give you advice with regard to insurance companies.

with regard,
Lawrence Gold