Why You Should Go to a Chiropractor for Car Accident Treatment

Many car accident victims complain of back pain even days after the incident. If their injuries are non-fatal and nothing serious comes up in x-rays, doctors may give them pain medication and advise rest. Car accident back pain, however, whether it’s debilitating or simply uncomfortable, can affect the quality of your life as well as your school or work performance. Back pain interrupts your ability to move with ease and affects concentration. Suffering from back pain can make you feel irritable and unhappy.

Besides the usual ice or hot packs and pain medicine, there’s another way to treat back pain from your injuries- chiropractic care. Patients who are new to chiropractic, however, tend to doubt its scientific basis and effectiveness. Instead of relying on unfounded assumptions, here’s the real deal about chiropractic care and why it offers reliable alternative car accident back pain treatment.

Chiropractic Treatments to Back Pain

Before going through the reasons why chiropractic is good for back pain, the following are some of the usual treatment options.

Spinal manipulation or adjustment is the most frequently-applied method to treating back pain. It consists of a high-velocity and short-lever arm thrust applied on the painful vertebra. It can be done manually or with the help of devices. A patient likewise has to position the body at certain angles for this maneuver to be properly applied. Manipulations commonly produce a popping sound, although not all the time.

Another chiropractic technique for back pain is mobilization which is low-velocity and composed of gentle stretches on the muscles and joints. Furthermore, mobilization may be applied vigorously on very tight muscles. Both adjustments and manipulations can improve the range of motion in these affected areas apart from decreasing nerve irritability and alleviating pain.

Why Chiropractic for Back Pain?

It's Safe

Based on scientific reviews, spinal manipulation and chiropractic treatments are generally safe for treating acute and chronic back pain. Acute back pain is more widespread than chronic pain and can last for weeks. Vehicular collisions can produce chronic back pain too which has a longer duration than the acute type and usually requires non-drug therapies. Spinal manipulation has provided better improvements for chronic back pain than other conventional approaches such as ice and hot packs and pain medication. Furthermore, in some instances, spinal manipulation may produce some tenderness on the applied spot but the pain typically goes away within a day.

It's Effective

Spinal manipulations and mobilizations from experienced and licensed chiropractors are proven effective for treating back pain. Michael Schneider, a professor of health sciences at the University of Pittsburgh, studied chiropractic treatments and determined that it is an effective therapy for low back pain. Moreover, a recent study showed that spinal manipulation modestly decreased lower back pain for many patients. Furthermore, the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) stated that spinal adjustments are effective for reducing chronic back pain, according to numerous clinical trials. These studies attest that manipulations are not only safe but also effective for treating back pain too.

Spinal alignments can support pain management and improve the healing abilities of the body. Though studies have not yet fully understood why spinal manipulation works, it is possible that realigning the spine decreases pressure on the central nervous system and has beneficial impacts on neuromusculoskeletal rehabilitation.

It's Comprehensive

Chiropractic care is not just centered on realigning the back but is comprehensive as well. Chiropractors treat patients as a “whole” which means understanding other potential causes of pain in the patient’s individual and environmental characteristics. A complete recovery program would usually include diet and lifestyle changes as well as physical activity recommendations.

Chiropractic care for back pain consists of safe, effective, and comprehensive care. Consider visiting a chiropractic clinic with licensed practitioners for a check-up so you can get into a program that will help you recover from acute back pain or better manage and reduce chronic back pain.

Sources:

“Are Chiropractors Legitimate?” Time.com
“Chiropractic Care for Back Pain,” WebMD.com
“Chiropractic Treatments for Lower Back Pain,” Spine-health.com
“Spinal Manipulation for Low-Back Pain,” NCCIH.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.