Many people understand that chiropractic therapy is beneficial in treating collision injuries. Still, few people understand the significance of seeking treatment from an auto accident chiropractor.
As with most healthcare professionals, doctors of chiropractic can seek specialties during their initial education and after licensing or certification. The treatment of auto accident injuries is among those specialties.
While any chiropractor can treat soft-tissue and musculoskeletal injuries, we believe and strongly advise accident victims to seek treatment from a specialist. Chiropractors specializing in automotive injuries know the appropriate techniques and movements to achieve desired results. Additionally, they understand the importance of an accurate medical record with imaging.
The Importance of Seeking Treatment After a Car Accident
There are many reasons to find an experienced chiropractor after a car accident, and the chief among them is your physical health. It is common knowledge that not all accident injuries manifest on a predictable timeline. With some soft tissue injuries, such as a whiplash injury, it can take days or weeks for symptoms, like neck pain to appear.
Your body has an amazing ability to mask injuries, allowing you to go about your day. Adrenaline is the main reason you might not feel pain immediately following an accident, and it can take time for hormone levels to return to normal.
Adrenaline is a survival hormone, and it plays a significant role in fight or flight responses. Instinctively, your brain knows that an accident is dangerous, and it triggers your body to protect itself, allowing you time to flee danger and get to safety.
Unfortunately, because your body does such an excellent job of masking pain, you might delay seeking treatment. Delays in treatment can lead to pervasive and progressive problems later.
6 Reasons To Visit an Auto Accident Chiropractor
While adrenaline can mask an injury, it is not the only reason to seek treatment from an auto injury chiropractor. With a chiropractic specialization in vehicular collision injuries, the doctor of chiropractic understands the typical issues associated with crashes. Therefore, they know where to look, even if your body doesn’t recognize the injury.
However, beyond having the support and insight of a knowledgeable healthcare professional, there are several reasons to visit with a chiropractor after an accident. In fact, there are at least eight reasons to seek treatment after experiencing the trauma of an automotive collision.
1. Hidden Injuries
Because of the biological response to trauma, it is easy to experience unknown or hidden injuries. Unfortunately, if you are unaware of an injury, you can exacerbate the condition by attempting to go about your routine like nothing is wrong.
While you might not recognize an injury right away, a chiropractor can look at the body’s warning signs — swelling, redness, sensitivity, inflammation — to diagnose potential problems. Additionally, a chiropractor has access to imaging equipment, allowing them to investigate internal issues like misalignment.
Scheduling a chiropractic appointment after a car accident can lead to the discovery of major and minor injuries before they become problematic or result in secondary or compounding injuries.
2. Inflammation
An auto accident chiropractor can also help reduce, correct, and prevent inflammation. While inflammation is a healthy bodily response to injury, it can lead to prolonged or extensive problems.
The problem with inflammation is how it floods an injured area with fluid and white blood cells, resulting in swelling and pressure. The initial flow of white blood cells is often helpful but continued and building pressure is not because it presses against nerves.
Chiropractors use techniques to alleviate pressure and inflammation. The methods they use in spinal chiropractic adjustments and manipulations also improve blood flow to the injured areas, allowing the transmission of oxygen and nutrients to damaged muscles and ligaments.
3. Scar Tissue
If an accident injury is not corrected and inflammation is left unattended, your body might succumb to further injury and internal scarring. Persistent or chronic inflammation can lead to healing with scar tissue. Scar tissue restricts movement, limiting flexibility and mobility.
Because a chiropractor works to alleviate inflammation and restore mobility, there is less risk of developing scar tissue. With reduced inflammation and less scar tissue, patients experience less pain and greater flexibility.
Chiropractic therapy can improve the chances of a full recovery, and it can be used in combination with other treatments. Too many people believe that chiropractic care exists on an island, but it should become a recognized and respected part of your health and wellness strategy.
4. Invasive Treatments
One of the primary reasons for visiting a chiropractor after a car accident is to reduce the likelihood or need for invasive treatments, like surgery. One area where chiropractors and doctors disagree with the rush to surgical intervention. Most doctors of chiropractic believe that many injuries, including sprains and strains, may be resolved without a more aggressive surgical intervention.
While there are always exceptions to the rule, most chiropractors prefer to explore non-surgical options first. However, you must know that sometimes injuries require such treatments.
Even if surgery is required, that does not mean you cannot use or do not need a chiropractor. Many physicians recommend their patients see a physical therapist or chiropractor after surgery.
5. Pain Management
An auto accident chiropractor can help victims with pain management. Often, recovery from accident injuries talces time and requires significant patience. Thankfully, because of chiropractic techniques, patients can experience relief without medication and can usually manage their trauma more effectively.
Chiropractors use spinal and targeted manipulations to realign the body and provide relief. However, manual and manipulative therapies represent a small portion of a chiropractor’s treatment arsenal.
A doctor of chiropractic also uses exercise and postural education in combination with ergonomic training to help patients become party to the solution. By teaching patients how to sit, walk, and stand, a chiropractor effectively teaches them to limit risks of strain, helping to manage and mitigate pain.
6. Range of Motion
Range of motion is about flexibility and mobility. After a car accident, it is not uncommon for patients to experience a reduced range of motion. Most problems associated with limited movement involve misalignment, inflammation, and nerve damage or injury.
While a chiropractor cannot promise full recovery of range of motion because that depends on the injury and scarring, they will find a treatment plan to hopefully improve flexibility, balance, and movement. They might request imaging to determine the cause of limitations and assess any underlying trauma.
Timeline To Recovery
One of the most frequently asked questions of any auto accident chiropractor is how long a patient needs to be in therapy. There is no definitive answer to that question. Every patient is different, and every injury is unique. Therefore, the best answer any auto injury chiropractor can provide is, “it depends.”
More than anything, recovery time depends on the patient. The patient must commit to treatment in and out of sessions. They must commit to at-home exercises and doing the work. Recovery, after all, is hard work.
Bayside Physical Therapy, Chiropractic & Acupuncture: Experience and Reputation
At Bayside Physical Therapy, Chiropractic & Acupuncture, we have made it our mission to manage pain problems. However, more specifically, we have dedicated our practice to collecting the most talented and qualified healthcare professionals to treat your injuries, and ur doctors specialize in auto accident injuries.
When you experience an automotive collision, you want to work with an auto accident chiropractor. Don’t waste another second debating the benefits of chiropractic care. Contact Bayside Physical Therapy, Chiropractic & Acupuncture and schedule your initial exam.