Auto-Accidents and Chiropractic Care
Learn how Chiropractic Care can help you after a car accident
One moment everything may seem fine, when suddenly you’re involved in a serious collision. Most people have one thing on their mind after a car accident--their Car! However, it’s important to remember that you and your injuries come first. A visit to a chiropractor should always follow an auto injury, as chiropractors are specialists in damage to soft and hard tissue.
How Can a Chiropractor Help Me After My Auto Accident?
Chiropractors are able to treat neck and back injuries associated with auto accidents. Many times, individuals who have been injured in a car accident experience such intense muscle pain and stiffness that they simply cannot function normally. When left untreated, this discomfort can be a serious issue.
After an auto accident, some individuals experience indicators of whiplash injuries right away, such as blurred vision, headaches, shoulder pain, dizziness, reduced range of motion and arm pain. Whiplash can also result in minor back injuries, muscle injuries, ligament problems, and disc damage. Other individuals may be injured and feel nothing at all.
The majority of car accidents are rear-end collisions, with whiplash being a common result. Whiplash can also occur from other kinds of trauma, accidents, and falls. The name whiplash, says it all. This injury occurs when the head and neck are whipped from back to front or broad sided from left to right or vice versa.
Many people in South San Francisco or San Bruno, who have been involved in an accident do not even realize they have received a whiplash injury until weeks or months later when the problem becomes persistent and leads to other issues. If you act quickly enough, you may be able to mitigate the severity or your sypmtoms, and expedite the healing process with the right treatment.
What is a Whiplash?
Did you know that most injuries caused by Auto accidents go undetected for months or even years? One of the most common injuries from a car crash is the damaging effect of whiplash. Whiplash occurs when a sudden jarring movement of the head is sustained backwards, forwards, or even to the side. As the spine is thrown forward the tendons and muscles around the spine can become torn and damaged. As a result, many people suffering from whiplash will begin to experience a number of uncomfortable symptoms, including neck and back stiffness, muscle soreness, headaches, or migraines.
Typically, the symptoms of whiplash do not present themselves until a day or two following the accident. However, if you have been in an auto accident it is generally recommended that you seek medical care for whiplash as soon as possible.
When the neck is whipped from back to front during a car accident, while playing contact sports such as football, or occasionally from an assault or other physical trauma, a number of things can happen to the spine and surrounding soft tissue. Whiplash describes the initial impact, but the results can include:
- Disc bulges and herniation
- Subluxation (misalignment of the vertebrae in the spine)
- Injured bones in the spine
- Irritated and damaged nerves
- Pulled ligaments and muscles in the Neck & Back
What the Symptoms of Whiplash?
Whiplash injuries can range from mild to very severe. Injuries tend to be more significant when your headrest is positioned too low. If the impact was quite severe or the headrest was low there is the possibility bones are misaligned or soft tissue is damaged and it is highly recommended that you see a chiropractor and receive a thorough examination and x-Rays. Even if the impact seemed mild, you may have a whiplash if you are experiencing any of the following symptoms:
- Neck pain
- Shoulder, Upper back, and Arm pain
- Headaches
- Blurred vision
- Pain when turning the head
- Inability to move or turn the head fully
- Dizziness
- Tiredness
- Numbness or tingling in the arms, hands, and fingers
- Ringing in the ears
- Difficulty sleeping
- Depression
As you can see there are a wide range of symptoms, and not all of them may be immediately traceable to whiplash.
Our approach for your Car Accident Rehabilitation
Our approach to car accident rehab does not involve the use of surgeries or pain medications. Rather we start with the source and cause of your pain, discomfort. Our car accident specialist Dr Dietrich will create customized programs that will improve function and promote healing in a timely manner.
Chiropractic Care focuses on rehabilitating the soft tissue that connects the muscles, ligaments, and nerves in your back. This accomplished through physical Therapy and low impact exercises. Also, Dr Dietrich will start First by taking a full examination orthopedic, neurologic testing’s, often utilizing X-Rays to examine any injuries to the neck or spine. It will also involve spinal adjustment to ensure the spine is restored to its original position and ability for movement to be restored. Chiropractic treatments are Gentle and non-invasive. Through small adjustments, our patients find great relief from the pain associated with whiplash and are set o a road to recovery.
So, if You or a Family member has been a Car Accident, please call our office for a consultation or examination at (650) 291-0709
Treating pain or whiplash should never be secondary to bringing your car at the mechanic or working with your insurance company. If you’ve had an auto accident recently, your first priority should be taking the initiative to visit your chiropractor!