- May 10, 2023
Common car crash injuries include whiplash, sprains and strains, neck and back injuries, and sciatica. What you can expect after suffering these injuries depends on the nature, type, and severity of the injury, as well as your age and activity levels. Nevertheless, with some conditions, pain, discomfort, and limited flexibility are almost guaranteed.
However, you don’t have to “power through” these symptoms or take a bunch of over-the-counter pain relievers that don’t address the injury’s source. Specific Care Chiropractic can create a treatment regimen, comprising chiropractic adjustments and physical therapy, to help you feel better than ever.
Some of the Most Common Car Crash Injuries and Their Symptoms
If you were hurt in a car crash, you might have suffered at least one of these injuries:
Whiplash
According to Mayo Clinic, whiplash is most commonly sustained in rear-end collisions. The neck forcefully snaps back and forth, similar to the crack of a whip. You might not feel symptoms until a few days after the crash. Come to our office if you start experiencing:
- Stiffness or pain in the neck
- A lack of range of motion in the neck
- Dizziness
- Ringing in the ears
- Fatigue
- Numbing or tingling sensations in the arms
- Headaches
- Blurred vision
- Poor concentration
Whiplash can heal with some rest and hot and cold compresses. However, in more severe cases, it might require more extreme interventions.
Sprains and Strains
The impact of a car accident can cause muscle strains or sprains. Per MedlinePlus, strains occur when a muscle or tendon overstretches or tears, whereas torn or overstretched connective tissues (ligaments) constitute a sprain.
Typical symptoms associated with these injuries include:
- Swelling
- Spasms
- Pain
- A limited range of motion
- Bruising
Similar to whiplash, sprains and strains can heal with home remedies, but if you still feel pain after a week, you may want to consider other treatment options.
Neck and Back Injuries
You might have sustained a neck or back injury in a car crash if you’re dealing with symptoms such as:
- Dull, sharp pain, whether it’s in a specific spot in your neck or back or it spreads
- Numbing, tingling sensations in your limbs or extremities
- Stiffness along your spine, from your neck to your tailbone
The reason for this pain could be a muscle strain or sprain, but you could also have a herniated or bulged disc in your neck or back. Bulged discs occur when the nucleus of the disc protrudes and irritates the surrounding nerves. On the other hand, when the nucleus completely penetrates the disc, it is considered a herniated disc.
Sciatica
According to Cleveland Clinic, sciatica occurs when the sciatic nerve in the lower back is compressed, irritated, or inflamed. As a result, you could experience shooting, burning pain, and running from the buttock and down the leg. Certain movements, like coughing, sneezing, standing up, twisting, or sitting for a long time, could cause a flare-up.
Treatments That Can Help Heal Car Accident Injuries
If your pain from any of these aforementioned injuries persists longer than a week, you may benefit from visiting our office. One of our chiropractors can administer adjustments to manipulate and realign your spine, taking the pressure off your nerves and relieving pain.
We may utilize these methods:
- Toggle recoil
- Lumbar side posture
- The Thompson Drop-Table Technique
- Seated diversified adjustments
- Diversified adjustments
- Knee-chest adjustments
- The activator method
Once we tackle the main source of your injury and pain, we can start to incorporate physical therapy techniques to help you maintain your new condition, build strength and flexibility, and prevent further injuries. Your chiropractor may recommend that you undergo:
- Electrical muscle stimulation (E-STIM)
- Massage therapy
- Ultrasound therapy
- Rehabilitation
- Corrective care
- Stretching and strength training exercises
How We Will Build Your Car Crash Injury Treatment Plan
When you come in for your initial appointment, we will listen to your story to get better insight into your condition. We may even order an X-ray and send you to another facility for more detailed imaging scans. This way, we will know what kind of injury you’re dealing with from every angle.
From there, we will craft a care plan that tackles your specific needs, aiming to get you back to feeling better than ever.
Our Chiropractors Can Help With Your Car Accident Injury Claim
If you were hurt in a car accident due to another person’s negligence, you may have grounds to file an insurance claim or a personal injury lawsuit against them. However, you must have evidence to substantiate your case. A big chunk of this evidence is medical documentation, as it plays a key role in connecting the crash to your injuries.
Our team can supply you with the relevant evidence you need to file a claim or lawsuit. This evidence may include:
- X-rays and other imaging scans
- Documentation of any medications we prescribed you
- A detailed analysis of your diagnosis and anticipated recovery
- A list of your appointments, both past and upcoming
- Our expert medical testimony
- An outline of the treatment plan we built for you
- Bills and invoices for your appointments and equipment
- Doctor’s notes for work
You may want to consider working with a car accident lawyer to help you seek financial recovery for your damages. If you’re interested but don’t know who to hire, we can refer you to one of the law firms in our network.
Specific Care Chiropractic Can Treat Your Car Crash Injuries
If you suffered an injury in a car crash, our chiropractors can evaluate your condition and give you an idea of what to expect from treatment and recovery. We will also put together a personalized care regimen that may incorporate chiropractic adjustments, physical therapy, or a combination.
Reach out to Specific Care Chiropractic today to get on the road to recovery. Dial (239) 369-9109 to set up your first appointment with our team.
