In the U.S. alone, millions of people are injured in car accidents every year.
Injuries occur in many of these accidents, whether it's a minor bump or bruise, or a serious, long-term, debilitating injury.
If you're ever in a car accident, even if you aren't in immediate pain after the car accident, it's in your best interest to visit the chiropractor to get the help you need.
Because your adrenaline is pumping, you might not start feeling the injury for hours, days, or even weeks after the accident.
Going to a car accident chiropractor right away makes sure the injury doesn't get worse before it gets better.
No matter what your injury, your chiropractor can provide the necessary adjustments to help you on your path to recovery.
In the article below, we will find out why chiropractic care works to avoid any long-term injuries after a car accident.
Table Of Contents
- Treat Injuries That Aren't Apparent
- Reduce Inflammation
- Restore Mobility
- Reduce Scar Tissue
- Avoid Medication
- Relieve Stress
- Prevent Long-Term Chronic Pain
- Visit Your Chiropractor
Treat Injuries That Aren't Apparent
If you've been in a car accident you know that there are obvious injuries that will be noticeable immediately.
Cuts, bruises, and broken bones are common issues that show up and are felt pretty quickly after an accident.
However, there are injuries that aren't so obvious. Some could take weeks for you to notice them.
A prime example of this type of injury is whiplash.
The symptoms for whiplash typically take 24 to 48 hours to appear.
And because of this, sometimes people don't associate their symptoms of whiplash with their car accident.
It's very important to treat your whiplash as soon as possible so you can avoid any long-term pain or discomfort due to the issue.
By visiting a chiropractor right after your accident, they can diagnose whiplash that day, and start treatment before it starts getting worse.
This also helps you build your case if you are pursuing a personal injury settlement.
Reduce Inflammation
During an accident, your muscles and ligaments that make up your spine can be stretched and even torn.
X-rays and MRI scans normally can't recognize these injuries, but the damaged tissue can become inflamed and irritated.
Depending on the severity of the injury, you can feel the discomfort right away, or you might not experience it until the morning after.
Your chiropractor will use adjustments to relieve pressure on your nerves and muscles.
This realigns your spine, allowing your body to begin the healing process.
Restore Mobility
The most common symptoms after a car accident are stiffness and feeling sore.
The muscles and joints of your body can become stuff, inhibiting your normal movements.
A chiropractor can help restore your mobility by regaining the full motion of the body before scar tissue is able to develop.
With a chiropractic adjustment, the mobility of your spine is improved which helps your blood flow increase, allowing your injury to heal faster.
Reduce Scar Tissue
Scar tissue is your bodies way of healing itself.
Scar tissue in injured areas is made up of the same kind of cells as normal tissue, but it's laid down much faster as a patch on top of the damaged area.
If you get scar tissue in a large area, it will be uncomfortable to move while you stretch out the skin, but it most likely won't cause long term issues.
Scar tissue that forms on ligaments on your back or neck is a completely different story and can become debilitating.
Since we can't stretch it ourselves, we rely on our chiropractors to do it for us.
Your chiropractor will focus his or her adjustments on the specific joints that are fixated, stretching them and breaking up the scar tissue around the joint.
Avoid Medication
One of the major benefits of chiropractic care is the ability to avoid medication.
For many car accident victims, their only relief from pain comes in the form of a possibly addictive pain killer with a laundry list of side effects.
However, to avoid taking pain medication, you should see a chiropractor.
With a pain management program designed just for you by your chiropractor, you can avoid the need to use prescription painkillers that sometimes do more harm than good.
With the natural healing method of chiropractic care, your muscles are strengthened, blood flow is increased, and the pain is subsided.
Spinal adjustments do a lot to improve your overall health, and will lower the amount of pain you feel due to injury.
Relieve Stress
One of the biggest side effects of being involved in a car accident is the stress it adds to your body, your mind, and your life.
Car accidents can be a very traumatic and stressful experience for everyone involved.
When your body is exposed to trauma, it goes into fight or flight mode, which causes anxiety, depression, and stress.
A study conducted in 2011 looked at the brains of patients who received chiropractic adjustments for neck pain.
They found that these patients had reduced brain activity in the parts of the brain that send out stress signals.
Prevent Long-Term Chronic Pain
Even a minor injury that is left untreated can evolve into a major problem.
For many accident victims, an injury can have symptoms that last for years if it isn't treated properly as soon as possible.
Quality chiropractic care will start to correct your injuries as soon as they've occurred, helping to avoid long-term issues from the injuries, thus enhancing your quality of life.
Visit Your Chiropractor
If you've been involved in a car accident, whether it was 10 minutes, 10 days, 10 months, or even 10 years ago, you should see your chiropractor.
That little fender bender you haven't thought about since it happened could have done some damage that will only continue to get worse over time.
It's better to be late and get the problems fixed than to never get them fixed at all.
And if you've recently been in a car accident and don't feel any pain, you should still see a chiropractor.
Your pain might not show up for days or weeks, but it is best to start treatment as soon as possible.
If you don't have a chiropractor, speak to the Nashville chiropractors at Advanced Injury Care.
They will get you taken care of so you can get back to enjoying life.
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