How a Chiropractor in Portland Helps Treat Injuries from Low-Impact Car Accidents

According to the Transportation Data Section of the Oregon Department of Transportation, 2,263 people suffered from nonfatal injuries due to motor vehicle crashes in Oregon last 2014. Some of these injuries are due to low-speed or low-impact accidents, which may result in persistent lower back, neck, or shoulder pain as well as disability and psychological anxiety. Learn more about what to do after low-speed automobile accidents and how a chiropractor in Portland can help treat pain and movement problems.

What to Do After Low-Impact Vehicular Crashes

If you’ve been in a low-speed vehicle accident, your injuries may not be fatal; however, you still need to take the following steps to prevent missing potential medical problems. The first step is to visit a hospital and to have yourself examined for low-impact injuries. Doctors will check you for soft tissue injuries which consist of injured bones, muscles, tendons, and joints. They would also diagnose if the accident aggravated any pre-existing illness you may have. Soft tissue injuries plus pre-existing health problems may result in more serious health consequences. If the doctor clears you of serious health problems yet you still feel pain and have movement issues, consider consulting a chiropractor to help determine and treat these concerns.

How a Chiropractor Helps You With Low-Speed Injuries

A chiropractor can offer different methods that would help treat pain and improve mobility. If you’re experiencing low back pain and difficulties in movement, your chiropractic care may include one or several of these methods: heat or cold therapy, spinal manipulation, high velocity thrusts, and/or ultrasound and electrical muscle stimulation. If you want to know if these interventions are safe and effective, several studies have shown that chiropractic treatments helped diminish pain severity and disability for those with back pain without negative effects. Those complaining of persistent body pain and received spinal manipulation also reported significant pain reductions. You might think that marginal improvement is insignificant but if nothing else works, starting your day with a little less pain may do wonders to curbing anxiety and improving movement slowly but surely.

Furthermore, chiropractic treatment for 3 months to 1 year enhances general physical health. Intervention can include physical therapy plus chiropractic applications or chiropractic care only. Alleviating pain and spinal manipulation can improve movement which can produce both physiological and psychological benefits. Being able to move around with less pain tends to make patients more satisfied and feel competent to resume pre-accident activities.

These studies show that chiropractic care alone or in combination with other medical treatments can be effective for different injuries sustained after low-impact vehicular crashes. Treating pain and enhancing mobility are some of the most perceived effects that conventional medicine alone may not be able to address. If you’re in Portland, consider visiting a chiropractor after your medical check-up to get a wider range of treatment for your pain and other possible health problems.

Sources:

“2014 Oregon Traffic Crash Summary,” Oregon.gov

“Low Back Pain: Early Management of Persistent Non-specific Low Back Pain,” ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Dr. Darren Faherty D.C.

In 2004, Dr. Darren Faherty graduated with a Bachelors of Science degree in Biology from UWEC - University of Wisconsin Eau Claire. Dr. Darren continued education at the highly esteemed University of Western States (formerly Western States Chiropractic College) where he obtained his chiropractic degree in 2007. He has been helping people recover from injuries and return to their normal lifestyles ever since.