A Car Accident Doesn’t Have to Slow You Down – As Long As You See Us Straight Away.
How frustrated are you?
You were just sitting stopped in traffic when the person texting behind you didn’t stop. It only took a split second, but the symptoms don’t seem to be going anywhere….
Now, you’re having neck and back pain, daily headaches and trouble sleeping, and your HMO doctor is telling you it’s a pulled muscle! You know there’s something wrong, but you don’t know the solution. If you’re ready to start really feeling better, rather than covering up the symptoms with painkillers, call us now!
Car Accident Injuries & Treatment
Select the appropriate tab below to find out about individual conditions and how we can help alleviate them. Conditions we regularly treat or refer arising from car accidents:
- Spinal injuries
- Neck injury/whiplash
- soft tissue trauma
- Multiple pulled muscles
- Concussion / MBI
- Herniated discs
- Knee trauma
- Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
Mild Brain Injury (MBI)
The forces that are created in auto crashes are not always fully appreciated by initial responders or even emergency room personnel.
If you have recently been in a car accident, have you noted:
- Difficulty sleeping through the night?
- Periods of dizziness or nausea?
- Feeling dazed, confused or disoriented?
- Headache or migraines?
- Fatigue or drowsiness?
- Balance problems?
- Visual issues, including blurred vision?
- Sensitivity to light or sound?
- Depression, anxiety, or mood changes?
You may be suffering from more than just a soft tissue neck injury or pulled muscles, even if that’s what you were told by another practitioner.
You may have suffered a concussion and/or Mild Brain Injury (MBI).
In our office, we see a fair amount of misdiagnosed or ignored MBI cases; we treat and refer them appropriately. It is extremely important that you seek care from a practitioner that understands the importance of properly diagnosing, treating and most importantly documenting your injuries.
Whiplash (CAD)
“Whiplash” or Cervical Acceleration-Deceleration (CAD) injuries are real, and can be life altering. Though normally associated with rear-end auto crashes, whiplash can be can be caused side or front impacts of any size. Even slipping and falling can cause a CAD injury.
Auto accident related whiplash is often downplayed by insurance companies, who look to damage estimates and deny there could be a significant injury. Even medical personnel may just document a simple “strain” and hand you muscle relaxers and pain meds, neglecting to document and treat your injury Correctly.
Consider the average head weighs between 12 and 16 pounds – like a bowling ball. When a sudden force is introduced you may not even have time to tighten or control your neck muscles. The ensuing kinematics of this type of injury are complex and way beyond a simple head being thrown forward.
There are significant timelines associated with inflammation and the natural healing that will take place no matter what else is done. The old notion that you should wear a neck brace to immobilize the neck has been proven wrong. In fact, the sooner normal motion is returned, the faster you can expect things to return to normal. Returning the neck muscles and joints to proper balance and function will help minimize the amount of scar tissue or fibrosis and minimize dysfunction and pain.
A comprehensive history and exam must be well documented for the best overall outcome of your health and your case. Below are some of the important factors in this type of injury:
* Were you aware of an impending impact
* Have you had previous auto crashes?
* What type of physical work have you done, sports?
* Where were you looking at the point of impact? Up, down, straight ahead or to the side.
* Did you loose conciciousness. Feel nausea, dizziness or disoriented?
* Was the car headrest in a good position, (most are not).
* Was the weather clear and dry or wet and foggy?
* Did you have a headache?
* Difficulty sleeping through the night?
* Xray findings are very important to appreciating your injury.
* Early mobilization or treatment is paramount to better outcomes.
There are distracted drivers everywhere – whiplash more common than ever. Those who seek treatment with a chiropractor who has studied advanced Chiropractic Cervical Spinal Trauma can look forward to better documentation and better overall outcomes.
Remember, if you have been in an auto accident you have the right to choose what doctor to see and what type of care makes sense for you. Don’t let an insurance adjuster insist you go to a practitioner who is not well trained in the proper care of a whiplash or CAD injury.
Shoulder And Arm Injury