How Chiropractic Care Can Help
When you are in a car accident, it is critical to seek medical attention, no matter how minor or severe the crash may have been. Due to the impact of the collision, your body releases extra adrenaline to protect it from any trauma that may have occurred. Because of this, you may not experience pain from your crash right away and could have a delayed onset of injuries.
It is very common for the force of the accident to knock your body out of its proper alignment. Even if you are wearing a seatbelt, you are still prone to injury. Chiropractic care is a non-invasive, drug-free treatment option that alleviates your pain through body manipulation and adjustment. If your injuries get left untreated, you can face chronic pain for an unpredictable amount of time.
Here are some lasting impacts an auto accident can have on your body and how chiropractic care can help:
Herniated Discs
Your spine is made up of vertebrae starting in your neck running to your lower back. In between each vertebra are spinal discs responsible for absorbing forces, reducing friction, and maintaining joint space in the spine. Spinal discs have an outer layer made of cartilage, as well as an inner gel-like fluid. When a disc herniates, the gel-like fluid breaks through the layer of cartilage.
Herniated discs are a common injury in car accidents. Depending on the location of the disc herniation, it can cause a significant amount of pain, numbness, tingling, or muscle weakness in either your arm or leg.
Chiropractic care uses low-force techniques to manipulate your spine and put it back into alignment. Certain treatments such as traction or basic spinal adjustments can open the joint space in your spine, taking pressure off the affected disc.
Muscle Strain
When you are in a collision, your body braces itself for the impact, causing your muscles to tighten and protect other areas. Facing impact while your muscles are already tightened can cause your muscles to strain, pull, or tear. It can also cause them to be overstretched upon impact, leading to swelling, muscle spasms, and discomfort.
You may notice muscle soreness for many days or even weeks after the crash. It is critical to tend to your pain by hydrating and resting your body to prevent additional injury. Massage therapy, physical therapy, light exercise, and stretching will help your muscles heal.
Nerve Pain
A pinched nerve can cause radiating pain down an entire area of your body. Inflammation from your muscles, soft tissues, or ligaments can all lead to pinched nerves. Herniated discs and whiplash are other common injuries resulting from a collision that can lead to nerve impingement.
During chiropractic treatment, the source of the pain is located before pressure on the nerve is relieved to alleviate your pain and discomfort. Chiropractic care helps manage your symptoms while restoring your normal spinal function.
Whiplash
Whiplash is one of the most common injuries to occur as a result of a car accident. While some symptoms of whiplash can heal after a few days, others can last weeks or even months. Whiplash is the forceful, quick, back-and-forth movement of your neck. This can lead to other complications such as stiffness in the neck and shoulders, jaw pain, back pain, dizziness, pinched nerves, blurry vision, and headaches.
A chiropractor will first try to reduce any inflammation in your muscles and use general treatment techniques to restore motion to your neck.
Treating Chronic Pain at Amazing Spine Care
Chronic pain after a car accident is extremely common. Our staff at Amazing Spine Care is trained to diagnose and treat auto injuries to help get you out of pain. If your injuries aren’t treated promptly, you may lose mobility and regular function.
Don’t wait for your injuries to develop to get care. Contact us online or call our office at (904) 320-0808 today.