USA Today reports that about 117,000 Americans suffer an auto injury each year due to snowy road conditions. From large accidents to small fender benders, you can easily sustain whiplash or back problems. The tricky part about these types of injuries is that symptoms can take days, weeks or even months to show up. That is why auto injury assessments are so important right after an accident has occurred. Learn what you should do following an accident to protect your long-term health and why!
If you have been involved in an automobile accident, schedule a chiropractic auto injury treatment and assessment. The physical damage may not be readily apparent to you, but your chiropractor will be able to pinpoint areas could worsen and record these injuries for future reference when seeking insurance or disability coverage. Delaying your assessment can disqualify you for insurance coverage because it doesn’t allow concrete proof that your injuries were caused by your auto accident. How you feel a week, month, or year later all depends on how you treat your body following an auto injury.
Auto injury detection without a medical provider’s assistance can be made difficult because your symptoms are masked by body-manufactured adrenaline that numbs the pain. Adrenaline is a powerful hormone designed for your survival. It prepares your body for action in high-stress situations and has a tendency to hang around in the body for hours after it is released into the system. 70 percent of people who visit the ER after sustaining an auto injury are still in pain 6 weeks later. Our Back 2 Health Physical Medicine team gets to the heart of your pain and dysfunction and prescribes appropriate treatment. Schedule an appointment immediately following an accident so we can help prevent further injury and treat your current pain.
The first step after an auto injury is to schedule a thorough physical assessment to determine the degree of your injuries and have a medical professional prescribe a course of action. The doctors at Back 2 Health Physical Medicine are musculoskeletal specialists. They have the knowledge and experience necessary to treat your nerves, muscles, joints and connective tissues. Auto injury patients will see slower improvement if they delay being seen than those that received care earlier on. Don’t delay!
Whiplash is the most common auto injury. It is named after the powerful jerking motion it describes. While whiplash is primarily neck pain, its scope isn’t limited to just that region. Other symptoms of whiplash include: arm pain, numbness or tingling, headaches, nausea, dizziness, lack of concentration or clarity of thought, depression, anxiety, TMJ or jaw pain, mid or lower back pain and even spinal disc symptoms. The number of symptoms associated with whiplash are due to all the structures, tissues, nerves, and muscles that are housed in the neck and that branch down your spine and throughout your body and head. Whiplash pushes your neck beyond its normal range of motion. This particular auto injury can have long-lasting effects if not caught and treated early.
Back injury is the second most common type of car accident injury. Your spine is more susceptible to injury because it stretches the length of your entire body and houses the vertebrae (bones) of your spinal column. Bones can be fractured, crushed, or dislocated. Ligaments (bands of tissue that shield the spine from injury), muscles, nerves, or the spinal cord itself can also sustain injury.
Remember, most often you don’t immediately feel the severity of your injury. Most pain from back injuries stems from the slow accumulation of fluids around your spinal cord and inflammation. Back injuries are serious injuries that can result in long-term disabilities and chronic pain if not given the proper attention. They can affect your bowel and bladder control along with sexual function.
Your head and neck are usually the most vulnerable in a motor vehicle accident because of the impact forces involved. Car collisions cause rapid changes in acceleration and deceleration. While your body remains relatively restrained by your seat belt, your head and neck are not as protected from these impact forces. Headaches that accompany a car accident are often called post-traumatic headaches. Some symptoms that accompany headaches caused from trauma are: blurred vision, depression, anxiety, ringing in the ears, and dizziness.
Discover what is causing your headache–what is injured–so you can prevent long-term, chronic headaches. Chiropractic physicians at Back 2 Health Physical Medicine are trained to relieve you of auto injury pain. Using spinal manipulation and pressure release techniques, they can restore joint mobility, improve your circulation, and reduce (or eliminate) the pain of your headaches. We offer you natural, drug-free treatment options for nervous and musculoskeletal system healing.
If you have been injured in a auto accident, don’t delay! Call today for an evaluation and treatment plan to restore you to your normal activities as fast as possible! We serve the communities of Goose Creek, Charleston, North Charleston, Summerville, Hanahan and Ladson and can help you understand what you need an how to get it. Call (843) 405-0025 today to schedule your free consultation!