Benefits of Chiropractic Care After a Car Accident

Getting an effective treatment plan after a car accident can be challenging. Have you tried chiropractic care? Here’s why you should. 

According to ASIRT, more than 4.4 million U.S. citizens incur severe injuries from auto accidents annually. Physical pain after car accidents occurs more often than you think. One of the most effective ways of relieving such pains from an auto injury is by visiting a chiropractor.

Unfortunately, several people don't know that this treatment option - which is similar to physical therapy - exists, how it works, and what makes it the best solution to car accident injuries and pains.

This article highlights nine benefits of chiropractic care after car accidents, explains how auto accidents cause back pain, and elaborates on the long-term windfalls of post-accident chiropractic treatments. It also provides answers to some frequently asked questions on chiropractic care for those looking to treat a personal injury.

Benefits of Chiropractic Treatment After a Car Accident

Are you thinking of pursuing chiropractic care for your auto accident injuries and pains? According to the American Chiropractic Association, you're not alone; more than 35 million Americans (adults and children) seek chiropractic treatment annually. And reasonably so - the solution has several health benefits, such as:

1. Restores Range of Motion and Mobility

Neck and back injuries are among the most common car accident ailments. The two often trigger loss of flexibility due to inflammations that block blood and nutrients from reaching other body parts.

Loss of flexibility can also be because of spinal joint misalignment or the development of scar tissues. When you visit a chiropractor, they can perform a chiropractic adjustment to restore range of motion by realigning the joints and mobilizing your spine through spinal manipulation. The process can reduce inflammation and encourage the body's natural healing.

2. Reduces Scar Tissue

Scar tissues are the collagen or cells that replace normal tissues and cover healing wounds. They're normal after car accident injuries and often cause discomfort and stiffness.

Most people leave the scar tissues to heal by themselves, but this may take a lot of time, and the discomfort may sometimes be overbearing. Chiropractors have special techniques for breaking up scar tissues for faster healing.

3. Experience Non-Invasive Treatment

Nobody loves surgeries. However, surgery may be your only option if you wait too long before seeking treatment after a car accident. If you visit a chiropractor soon after the auto accident, you can get non-invasive treatment through chiropractic spine alignment.

This approach doesn't require surgical intervention and can prevent unnecessary scar tissue. It also encourages the body to heal itself, resulting in wholesome body recovery.

4. Pain Relief Without Drugs

When you incur minor injuries or experience mild pains after a car accident, you might think that over-the-counter drugs will make you feel better. While they may reduce pain for some time, this often doesn't last long; you'll soon return to the chemist asking for more prescriptions to help relieve your chronic pain.

Pain relief medicines, including prescriptions from doctors, can be extremely addictive. If you're not careful, you may become overdependent on them. Even worse, your body may have allergic reactions to the drugs.

Car accident chiropractic care can help you overcome car accident pain without addictive medications or drugs with side effects. Unlike pain relief medicines, they don’t address or mask the symptoms. Instead, chiropractors focus on solving the problem's root, leading to wholesome healing for the whole body.

5. Diagnose and Treat Hidden Injuries

Car accident injuries are more than broken bones, bruises, and lacerations that you can easily spot. They also include joint misalignment, internal bruises, and whiplash, which you might not notice immediately.

For instance, it may take weeks for symptoms of whiplash, such as headaches and dizziness, to show. And by then, the injury could have gotten worse.

Don't assume that you're fine because you're not feeling any body aches after an auto accident. Instead, visit a chiropractor who can identify all potential injuries through physical touch and extensive X-rays. They can then put you into a treatment plan to prevent the issue from aggravating and avert long-term effects.

6. Future Injury Prevention

Minor auto accident injuries can grow into severe long-term complications if you don't address them on time. For example, soreness and pain in the upper back because of whiplash can continue for years and cause physical and emotional anguish.

Visiting a chiropractor immediately after a car accident can help identify these injuries early enough to prevent them from becoming chronic conditions.

7. Speed up the Recovery Process

Through chiropractic care, the realignment of joints and nerves restores the regular flow of blood and nutrients in the body, stimulating faster recovery. Sometimes, you can use chiropractic treatment to speed up your surgery recovery process.

8. Attorney Documentation

Several insurance companies require medical examination and treatment reports to process claims. Visiting a chiropractor immediately after a car accident enhances your chances of launching a successful claim. You can ask the chiropractor to draft a medical report for your attorney's documentation.

How Car Accidents Cause Back Pain

Back pain is the most common car accident injury. It can result from over-stretching or over-twisting muscles and tendons from the accident's impact. Back pain may also come from a whiplash injury, soft tissue injuries, fractures, spinal cord injuries, or a herniated disc.

Long-Term Benefits of Post-Accident Chiropractic Treatment

Chiropractic care after a car accident can speed up your recovery process, restore normal blood flow, and revitalize your entire body. It can also reduce your exposure to long-term post-accident injuries and pains by addressing the complications' roots and encouraging natural recovery.

FAQ

Why is it crucial to see a chiropractor after a car accident?

Chiropractors can identify and treat several types of auto accident injuries, including those yet to manifest. They provide non-invasive, drug-free solutions.

How long after an injury should you visit a chiropractor?

If possible, seek chiropractic care immediately after the accident. The sooner, the better.

Who pays for a chiropractor after an accident?

Several insurance companies cover chiropractic expenses. If not, you can pay by yourself.

Final Words

The benefits of chiropractic care after a car accident are more than the nine we've listed above. As the world gradually shifts toward non-invasive treatments, chiropractic care will likely rival traditional solutions like surgeries and drugs.

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.