Car accidents are one of the most common ways to sustain an injury in the U.S. Some of these injuries, especially when left untreated, may become lifelong. It might be difficult to recover from an injury caused by a vehicle accident. A vehicle accident injured victim’s treatment options often include surgery and pharmacological medicines. Seeing a chiropractor who specializes in treating accident injuries may be a healthier, less invasive option. Even a minor fender bender may result in lasting, widespread pain for many individuals. When untreated, many individuals may experience lifelong impacts from these events. Soft tissue injuries, arthritic issues, and other chronic pain may develop in time, long after the initial impact of the accident. Scheduling an appointment with a chiropractor may not be the first task to come to mind post-accident. Still, a chiropractor may be able to offer an alternative to long courses of painkillers and surgeries associated with traditional medicine, providing car accident victims with a healthier, more effective approach to treating their injuries.
What Is a Chiropractor?
Chiropractors are doctors who focus on diagnosing and treating neuromuscular disorders. Chiropractors don’t use chemical treatments. Instead, chiropractors use physical adjustment and manipulation of the spine to reduce pain and improve the spine’s structural integrity. Unlike what may be depicted in films and pop culture, chiropractic care is safe and comes with little risk. Chiropractors are doctors who are experts in spinal treatment and understand the sensitivities of the spine better than anyone else. Compared to the potential side effects of surgeries and chemical treatments, chiropractic care is distinguishably less invasive and inherently has less risk.
How Will a Chiropractor Help Relieve my Pain?
Spinal Manipulation
The most fundamental part of chiropractic care is spinal manipulation. The chiropractor will use their hands to apply pressure to different parts of the back, putting your spine back into alignment.
Joint Realignment
Joint pain is a common complaint, especially after a car accident. However, in many cases, pain may be relieved through simple realignment of the joints through specialized handwork.
Muscle Massaging
In addition to the spine and joints, muscles can commonly be a significant source of pain, especially after car accident trauma. A chiropractor can aid in the stretching and moving of muscles to combat pain in conjunction with other methods.
Decreasing Physical Pain
Widespread pain can be felt in the body after a car accident, even a minor one, affecting areas of the body that were not impacted initially in the incident. Spinal adjustments from a chiropractor can relieve other body regions that are causing pain by getting to the root of the pain.
Reducing Inflammation
While having some inflammation may signal that the body is healing, too much inflammation may cause discomfort and pain. With chiropractic care, a chiropractic doctor will work to realign your spine. Your body will respond by lowering its production of cytokines and inflammation.
After a car accident, your muscles and ligaments will likely experience microtears that will not appear on an X-ray. Using spinal manipulations to realign the spinal cord, your body will release an anti-inflammatory that will help reduce inflammation and pain symptoms.
Improving Range of Motion
Loss of mobility and flexibility that may reduce quality of life is common after a car accident. Loss of flexibility may be caused by spine misalignment, inflammation, or scar tissue build-up, all of which may be addressed by your chiropractor. You may begin to feel better after each chiropractic session attended. Through chiropractic care, your spine will be mobilized, restoring a range of motion, and allowing the body’s natural healing process to begin at an accelerated rate. Exercise and strength training may also be utilized to decrease pain and increase your range of motion.
Reduce Dependency on Pain Relievers
Potentially addictive painkillers are commonly prescribed after experiencing bodily trauma by doctors. These medications may help with pain but do not treat the underlying issues causing discomfort. They may come with adverse side effects. Chiropractic treatment is chemical-free. Chiropractors work to target the source of discomfort and work to reduce pain without strong chemicals.
Non-Invasive Treatment
Not many individuals look forward to having surgery. However, surgery may be avoided with prompt medical treatment and treatment from a chiropractor. In addition, non-invasive chiropractic adjustments that realign the spine and joints can promote healing without surgery.
May Aid in Claim Success
Seeing a chiropractor after a car accident might help you get the compensation you deserve if your injuries were caused by someone else’s negligence. If someone else caused your injury, the other person’s insurance company will be responsible for paying for your medical care.
What Injuries Can Chiropractors Treat?
Whiplash Syndrome
During a car accident, the robust amount of energy being dispersed throughout the collision can jolt your body and cause it to move much faster than typical. This jolting action can cause issues such as whiplash, where the tendons and muscles in your neck become damaged. Chiropractic whiplash treatments may assist you in recovering far faster than you could on your own. Whiplash injuries are more difficult to detect than fractured bones, lacerations, or bruising. Whiplash symptoms like dizziness, headaches, soreness, and discomfort in the neck and upper back might take days or weeks to manifest. Even if you are not currently in pain, the best approach to deal with whiplash injuries is to catch them early and seek treatment. Ignoring potential injuries could result in long-term suffering. As a result, it’s critical to contact a chiropractor as soon as possible after a car accident in order to correctly diagnose your injuries and begin therapy. Keep in mind that the sooner you treat your injuries, the better.
Back Injuries
After a car accident, back pain is a prevalent ailment that can become very long-lasting or may become more severe with age. Interestingly, it is estimated that 80% of US citizens will experience back pain. Experiencing long-lasting chronic back injury may be reduced, relieved, or eliminated by chiropractic care.
Neck Pain
Car accidents may often cause neck pain and associated symptoms such as dizziness, headaches, muscle spasms, numbness, and more. Chiropractors are uniquely qualified to diagnose and treat the root causes of neck pain stemming from an automobile access to get you back to your daily activities without pain or related symptoms as quickly as possible.
Arm Injuries
Our bodies are naturally equipped with protective reflexes when in danger. For example, in an automobile accident, many people place their arms out to protect their bodies from impact. As a result, arm injuries and subsequent pain are widespread following an accident. A chiropractor specialized in treating automobile accident victims can assist with decreasing pain and discomfort associated with sustained injuries to the arm following a car accident.
Take Action to Eliminate Your Auto Accident-Related Pain
Don’t let your discomfort get in the way of your healing progress. Embrace a comprehensive and holistic approach to your treatment. Your chiropractor can build a tailored plan for you to assist you with moving forward and ensuring that you get the care you need.
