The Facts about Car Accident Injuries
There are over 5.25 million car accidents a year. Even when accidents are not fatal, many times they have serious, long-term consequences. In fact, 15 to 40 percent of car crash victims suffer from lifelong chronic, debilitating pain. Majority of people who were diagnosed with whiplash—a common car accident personal injury—have chronic pain nearly 20 years after the car crash.
That’s right—the pain might never goes away without proper treatment. Car crash victims have a tendency to brush off minor aches and pains, until they worsen, causing decreased range of motion, pain, muscle spasms, stiffness, and in the most severe cases, long-term disability. In fact, many car accident injuries don’t show up until several weeks or months after the wreck due to a flood of stress hormones and slow-healing micro-tears in the soft tissue.
Conventional Treatment is Not Enough!
Only a well-trained and highly-experienced chiropractor, medical doctor or physical therapist can properly diagnose and treat car accident injuries before you begin to experience severe symptoms. Why? Because chiropractors or other experienced accident doctors know the special ins-and-outs of car crash injuries and how their presentations of injury may differ due to the different factors experienced during a car accident. You see, a car crash soft tissue injury is not the same as a sports injury. It acts differently and responds differently to treatment. For this reason, a general doctor or even specialist may not be able to accurately diagnose and treat car crash injuries due to a lack of training or experience in this field.
In fact, people who rely on a a general family doctor to diagnose and treat their car crash injuries often end up taking potentially addictive pain pills (with harsh side effects) or wind up in braces, which further restrict range of motion causing increased deposition of scar tissue increasing the risk for permanent injury.
Neither pharmaceuticals nor braces are a healing solution after a car wreck, these only mask symptoms without looking at the root cause of the problem. Only chiropractors and specialized accident doctors are trained to eliminate the source of pain without unnecessary medications or invasive procedures.
While conventional medical treatment is proven ineffective in the treatment of whiplash and other car crash injuries (even though it is an inefficient $5.2 billion dollar per year industry), a whopping 93 percent of patients diagnosed with whiplash significantly improved following chiropractic care.
The Chiropractic Difference
What do chiropractors do to treat car accident injuries that mainstream doctors don’t do? Well, for starters, they are uniquely positioned to understand the muscle and skeletal system. They understand that fascia—the thin web of connective tissue that spans your entire body—becomes coiled when injured, causing knots and pain if not treated. Research shows that majority of damage to the spine during an auto accident is done to the facet and disco-vertebral joints. These are the joints that chiropractors focus on when they apply gentle pressure to correct spinal misalignments and pinched nerves caused by the accident.
Chiropractors have access to a wide variety of healing therapies, such as trigger point therapy, ultrasound, PRP injections, and movement-based therapies, to properly treat damaged tissue. In addition, they get right to the root of the problem by gently correcting any spinal misalignments (subluxations) that can cause long-term pain and muscle tightness. If a car accident victim has severe symptoms they can also be referred for pain management and additional testing by an orthopedic doctor or neurologist. This ensures they patient gets the best care possible and is able to consult with other specialists which will guarantee the best long term outcomes from their treatment.
Who Should Receive Chiropractic Care Following a Car Accident?
Anyone and everyone who has been in a car accident should visit a chiropractor within two weeks of the accident. An Orange County chiropractor can diagnose and treat serious injuries before they derail your life! Even if your car accident occurred at low speed, car velocity and injuries are not correlated to the speed of the accident which means every person involved in an accident should be assessed after to prevent future problems. Even car accidents at speeds of 10 to 15 km/hour can cause significant injuries. The seriousness of your car accident personal injury depends on a myriad of factors, including, but not limited to:
- Age
- Body Composition
- Emotional State
- History of Muscle Tension
- Angle of Accident
Can I Afford Chiropractic Car After My Car Wreck?
The ultimate question: Is chiropractic care affordable? At South OC Chiropractic, we understand that car accidents are stressful enough without the added concern of treatment. We work with your insurance company after your accident to take care of your treatment. Many people are not aware that their car insurance carries coverage for injuries after an accident, therefore most people don’t have to pay anything out of pocket for their care. Chiropractic treatment is covered by insurance for people who have recently been in a car accident and at South OC chiropractic we do a FREE insurance verification for people who have been involved in a car accident to let them know about the medical coverage they have after their accident.
We also offer medical liens at no upfront cost to you. If you are working with an attorney we will contact their office and send them the necessary documentation to help you with the best settlement in a timely manner. That is, we provide you with cutting-edge, state-of-the-art care today, and your attorney or insurance will take care of the cost later to decrease your stress and allow you to focus on healing.
Think about this: If you aren’t evaluated by a chiropractor following an accident, you may be on your own to pay for treatment later—as the settlement may close and your insurance company will not pay for future treatment. Call South OC Chiropractic today at (949)470-4757, and we will make sure you are on the road to complete recovery!