The answer to this question will depend on the person at issue and the severity of their injury. The majority of patients can expect to see a noticeable improvement within a few weeks of starting chiropractic care. While some patients can recover completely in months, others would need ongoing maintenance to manage their symptoms. Enhancing the patient’s quality of life and minimizing discomfort are the ultimate goals of chiropractic treatment.
You might have received medical care on the scene if you were recently involved in a car accident. You will frequently be instructed to follow up with a doctor within a few days, whether you see paramedics or even go to urgent care. But how do you choose a medical professional who can be of use to you? There are several different sorts of specialists who specialize in treating injuries sustained in auto accidents. In addition, you might be interested in consulting a car accident chiropractor for a more natural and conservative approach to your treatment and rehabilitation.
However, if you see a car accident chiropractor, you might also wonder how long it would take to recover from a vehicle accident. What you should know about auto accident injuries, how chiropractic therapy can help, and how long healing takes are provided below.
Typical Auto Accident Injuries
There are, sadly, many different kinds of injuries from automobile accidents. Here are the top five car accident injuries and how a chiropractor for car accidents might assist.
Whiplash
The most frequent injury from a car accident is whiplash. The impact force after an automobile collision can move your body, especially your head and neck. Your head and neck may violently jolt forward and backwards during a rear-end collision or fender-bender, which may result in whiplash. The muscles in your neck, upper back, and spine can all be harmed by this kind of injury. Whiplash can damage your spine and produce misalignments that are extremely painful and uncomfortable for you. Your neck muscles may experience strains or even tears as a result.
Back Pain
Because of the pressure the collision puts on your spine and back muscles, back discomfort is a common complication of auto accident injuries. Your back muscles and spine undoubtedly underwent a lot of strain and tension, whether you were jostled around or had a single, forceful shock. Therefore, back discomfort after a car accident can result from muscle and spine injuries. Even while you might be tempted to let the pain subside on its own, back discomfort is frequently a sign of other car accident injuries, and if it is not addressed, it can become chronic.
Strained muscles
Due to the painful or unnatural movements your body makes as a result of the collision, muscle strains are another prevalent complication of auto accidents. For instance, whiplash can cause muscle tension by yanking your neck muscles out of their natural range of action. In addition, your arms and legs may have muscle strains, particularly if you attempt to brace yourself for impact. Muscle aches following a car accident can indicate a strain or other injury, despite what you may initially believe.
Blown-up bones
Car accidents can also result in fractures, sometimes broken bones. Fractures, also known as fractured bones, can occur in many different ways and impact any body area. For example, many people see a cast on an arm or leg that is vividly coloured when they think of a shattered bone. Some fractured bones, such as hairline fractures, are too small to be detected by medical imaging yet cause significant pain and discomfort for the patient.
On the other hand, there are situations when you might honestly believe that the accident did not result in severe damage to you. Then, you can decide whether to wait to get help, but if you experience any of the following, you should visit a doctor for a thorough examination:
1. You are suffering from a persistent headache.
Tight shoulders and neck muscles can cause a headache. However, if the headache persists after the event, it can indicate traumatic brain injury, which could have detrimental effects.
2. You Feel Sharp Pain.
You should see a doctor if you experience sudden, severe pain following your injury, especially if it is sudden and severe. For example, a serious injury, such as a shattered bone, occasionally causes pain that is not felt until the bone shifts into a new position. Those sudden pains can be the first sign that you have a more severe injury than you previously believed.
3. You experience extremity weakness.
If you experience weakness in your arms or legs, see a doctor as soon as possible. Weakness in your limbs could be a sign that your accident left you with spinal cord damage or another catastrophic condition. When you find that your weakness worsens over time, head straight to the emergency hospital.
4. Your Pain Doesn’t Seem to Be Getting Any Better.
The soreness should progressively go away after the accident. Depending on how much you move around and how much you do, give more attention to the pain-relieving strategies that will increase your general energy and mobility. However, experiencing a worsening of your pain rather than an improvement could indicate a significant injury. Visit a doctor before your discomfort gets worse rather than ignoring it.
5. Your Pain Is Not Abated.
If you realize that your pain has not subsided, it may signify that you were injured more severely than you initially believed in the collision. Different people have different levels of pain tolerance. Other times, a car accident’s moderate ache could signify a significant injury. If your discomfort does not disappear after the accident, visit your doctor.
6. Any signs of confusion or disorientation occur in you.
You could feel disoriented and shaky after an accident due to the adrenaline rush, but these symptoms should subside reasonably soon. However, you should seek care as quickly as possible if your bewilderment worsens or you experience confusion and disorientation after leaving the accident scene. These symptoms may indicate traumatic brain damage.
7. You are experiencing vision or hearing issues.
Except for those who have suffered severe injuries, frequently involving traumatic brain injury, vision or hearing issues are uncommon after car accidents. However, make an appointment with a doctor as soon as you can if you start to experience vision or hearing issues, such as tunnel vision, ringing in the ears, or blurred vision.
8. You Experience Chest or Abdominal Pain.
If you feel pain in your abdomen or chest, it may be a sign that you have had severe trauma to those body parts. The discomfort may be brought on by internal bleeding or organ trauma. For example, you can get bruises on your chest or abdomen if you hit the steering wheel during the collision. That bruise needs medical care since it can conceal more severe wounds.
9. You notice that you are becoming more and more sleepy.
After an accident, you can feel a little weary, but that’s typically just your body trying to recover itself. You could require more sleep than usual, particularly if you have other obligations to attend to during the accident.
Even if you think your accident-related injuries are minimal, you should still visit a doctor as soon as possible. Serious wounds, such as head and brain damage, can take days or even weeks to manifest. However, the longer you wait to seek treatment, the more severe and lethal these wounds may become.
Our team of car accident chiropractors at Fullness of Life Chiropractic will create a personalized treatment plan, particularly for you, that takes into account your unique healthcare requirements and establishes a realistic recovery goal for you. For all kinds of auto accident injuries, we provide complete chiropractic care.