Over 5.2 million people suffer from motor vehicle injuries each year. If you’re among these people, it’s easy to feel stressed and alone during a long treatment process. Luckily, an auto accident chiropractor can help you recover with non-invasive methods.
Here, we’re going to talk about the benefits of chiropractic care in car accident recovery. Read on to learn some advantages of seeking out a chiropractor to help with post-accident treatment.
- A Non-Invasive Solution
Many car accident recovery plans involve drugs like heavy painkillers. This makes sense – whiplash and other soft tissue injuries can be painful. However, it can also cause side effects like lethargy and nausea in some patients.
Other treatments are extremely invasive, specifically surgeries. Going under anesthesia is always stressful, and the recovery process post-procedure is usually painful.
Chiropractic adjustments are completely non-invasive. There are no drugs involved, and you won’t need to go under the knife. Your treatment will involve manipulating the neuromusculoskeletal system from outside of your body, which is a simple way to get your life back on track.
- Better Healing
A chiropractor’s natural treatment methods focus on stimulating your body to heal itself. Realigning joints, adjusting your spine and neck, and stimulating certain pressure points help your body function properly.
You also will have an easier time moving once your body is completely realigned. This means that you won’t be in as much pain, and you’ll also have an easier time walking and exercising. Stretching your muscles with exercise and staying on your feet can prevent the development of other help issues like chronic stiffness and future muscle tears.
- Short-Term Pain Relief
In addition to getting you back on your feet in the long term, chiropractic care benefits include immediate pain relief. In fact, clinical studies show chiropractic adjustments give patients better short-term relief than other types of care do.
94% of those who get manual-thrust chiropractic manipulation get at least a 30% reduction in their pain levels. Only 69% of those who get other traditional care see this level of pain reduction.
- Quality Whiplash Injury Rehab
Whiplash is the most common type of injury after a car accident. After an abrupt impact with another object, a driver or passenger’s head snaps backward and forces their neck outside of a normal movement range. This stretches the muscles in the neck and shoulders, sometimes tearing the muscles, tendons, joints, and ligaments.
This can cause muscle pain, stiffness, mobility issues, headaches, numbness, dizziness, and difficulty swallowing.
A chiropractor can examine you for signs of whiplash. They can then treat it with holistic methods and stimulate your body to repair damaged soft tissue. This can stop long-term pain and mobility problems from developing over time, so it’s well worth creating a treatment plan.
- Lower Inflammation
Whiplash is just one injury that includes inflammation-related issues. You may also suffer joint inflammation in the wrists, spine, other areas of the back, and shoulders.
There are several chiropractic methods used to reduce inflammation. Some common ones include:
- Spinal manipulation for back pain
- Tissue massages in the affected area(s)
- Cold therapy
- Stretches and similar physical therapy techniques
These methods can reduce swelling. Getting rid of excessive inflammation and stimulating healing ensures that your spine and other muscles will heal into the proper position. You don’t want it to heal around inflamed areas and wind up in a misaligned biomechanical position.
- Combat Scar Tissue
Car accident injuries often heal with scar tissue. The body naturally tries healing damaged muscles and tendons by using collagen to form this scar tissue. This would be good, but it can cause a lot of long-term complications like pain, stiffness, and decreased mobility.
This doesn’t always happen – the tissue often will heal on its own. But it doesn’t always, and if it’s causing problems or pain, you need to see a chiropractor. You may also just want to see a chiropractic expert as a preventative measure to avoid future pain.
This is because a chiropractor understands the massage techniques needed to break scar tissue up in any area of the body. Breaking the tissue into pieces makes the body able to heal itself faster. Plus, it stops more scar tissue from forming and making the recovery process even slower.
- Diagnosis for Hidden Injuries
Whiplash doesn’t usually show external signs for a day or two. But it’s far from the only injury that you won’t notice immediately after a car accident. Other pulled muscles, concussions, and fractures aren’t always immediately obvious.
Unfortunately, all of these injuries can lead to both short-term pain and long-term complications. A chiropractor will assess your whole body immediately following an accident. You shouldn’t wait for pain to appear in order to see one.
The chiropractic care provider will look at your body, diagnose your injuries appropriately, and come up with a treatment plan. This individualized care plan will be tailored to your specific injuries and lifestyle. It will prioritize your specific wellness while taking factors like affected areas and your precise symptoms into account.
- Prioritize Whole-Body Wellness
Because chiropractors are holistic wellness professionals, they’ll assess your body as a complete system before providing you with a treatment plan.
They know how to find possible issues and treat them before you’re in pain. They also focus on muscle groupings and clusters of tissue and muscles rather than just one affected area.
This means that your body is unlikely to hurt in multiple areas that become worse over time. Ultimately, you’ll be able to heal in the long term in a more effective way. Preventative care is part of chiropractic adjustments as well, which can help to stop future injuries from developing.
Get Help From an Auto Accident Chiropractor
Now that you know how an auto accident chiropractor can help with your recovery, it’s time to begin looking into post-accident treatment options.
Anthem Chiropractic’s team is committed to using their 25+ years of experience to help those who have suffered a recent trauma get their lives back on track. Request an appointment to discuss your specific injuries and come up with a personalized treatment plan.