Should I See A Chiropractor After A Car Accident?
I’m Ed Smith, a Sacramento personal injury lawyer. After a car accident, you might suffer pain and muscle tension right away or your symptoms might be delayed. Even though you weren’t seriously injured, you still don’t feel quite right.
Why Might I Need To See A Chiropractor?
The impact forces of a car accident typically affect your neck the most; while your body is constrained by the seat belt, your head and neck freely move and hyperextend, a condition called cervical sprain or whiplash. Damage to soft tissues and even intervertebral discs can occur. The forces can create even more issues in children. Amazingly, injuries to the neck area cervical spine can occur in accidents involving cars traveling only 5 mph!
What Symptoms Lead To Seeking Chiropractic Services?
People with whiplash complain of neck and arm pain, numbness and tingling, and sometimes have dizziness, nausea, headache, and mental fog.
How Are Chiropractic Treatments Different From Regular Medicine?
Chiropractic treatments reduce or eliminate the symptoms of whiplash. The doctor will conduct a thorough exam, then discuss your diagnosis and recommended treatment. Improving your function while reducing your pain is every chiropractor’s goal, and it is accomplished by regaining optimal spinal mobility. During a chiropractic adjustment, or spinal manipulation, the chiropractor applies manual forces to specific areas of the spine. The movements are very precise and controlled, and designed to restore spinal alignment. Over time, slight misalignments worsen and can get so bad that the movement in the vertebrae is restricted. All it takes is a traumatic event like a car accident to misalign the spine and joints. The technical term for these misalignments is “subluxation”; nerve transmission is impeded, so realignment restores the spine and normal nerve transmission. When nerves transmit in a normal fashion, the body naturally heals.
Do Chiropractic Treatments Hurt?
Contrary to popular belief, these adjustments are not uncomfortable or painful. They rarely create discomfort. There might be some mild soreness in the muscles, but otherwise they are very effective and very safe. So don’t be timid! Furthermore, chiropractic adjustments are very safe for children. After a car accident, children can experience the same symptoms as adults —neck pain or back pain, and stiffness. But don’t worry—the technique will be adjusted to the child’s smaller body and will be applied very gently. Millions of patients trust chiropractic methods—so can you.
Is Chiropractic Treatment Safe?
As a parent you do not want to expose your child to any increased risk. Like any other health professional you need to ask around and do your own due diligence. Chiropractic care is recognized as a safe, non-invasive way to treat a whole host of back, joint, and musculoskeletal pain. However, no medical treatment is without risk. Some patients experience discomfort following chiropractic treatment, but it usually resolves within 24 hours.
If you’ve recently been in a car accident, don’t delay in contacting a chiropractor. You will benefit from a proper diagnosis and prompt treatment. Our doctors can determine any underlying injuries you may have, and create a custom treatment plan for rehabilitation.
Sacramento Personal Injury Lawyer
I’m Ed Smith, a Sacramento Personal Injury Lawyer. If you have been injured in a car crash due to someone else’s negligence, call me at (916) 921-6400 for free and friendly advice. Elsewhere, you can call toll me toll free at (800) 404-5400.
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Image Credit: Jiri Hodan [Images in the public domain], at Wikimedia Commons
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