Auto Accident Injury Care in Clearwater
Even minor rear-end collision auto accidents can cause serious whiplash injuries.
Most Common Injuries
By far, the most common injuries resulting from auto accidents are soft tissue injuries that involve connective tissue damage to the muscles, ligaments, or tendons. Whiplash is a type of soft tissue injury where the neck muscles and ligaments are suddenly and rapidly stretched and potentially torn due to the impact of the accident causing the head to snap in one direction and then rebound in the opposite direction. A “strain” occurs when muscles are overstretched or torn, and a “sprain” results when ligaments are injured the same way.
Not only are neck injuries common in car accidents, but so are injuries to the back. It’s also important to find out if the spinal discs, which are the cartilage shock absorbents between the spinal vertebrae, are also injured.
Hidden Injuries
It’s really important to get checked out after an auto accident, even a minor rear-end collision, because you may not be aware that you’ve been injured. Your body does everything possible to stay out of pain and symptoms can be delayed for days, weeks, or even months due to the production of adrenaline initially and natural painkillers called endorphins thereafter.
Even if you’ve been to a hospital or urgent care center, you may still have significant soft tissue injuries that were not discovered since emergency conditions are primarily looked for including broken bones, dislocations, and organ damage.
Chiropractic physicians are trained to identify hidden injuries resulting from car accidents including soft tissue injuries, spinal injuries, extremity injuries, and even a head injury, often called the “silent injury” because it can be very deceptive and hidden since it often does not show any bruising or manifest any symptoms initially.
Medical Care After a Car Accident
Podcast: Dealing with Short-Term and Long-Term Injuries from Auto Accidents
If you have been to a hospital emergency room, as long as you don’t have a serious injury, you’ll typically be given a clean bill of health or told that your symptoms will likely clear up within a few weeks and you may be given a neck brace as well as a prescription for a muscle relaxer, painkiller, and/or anti-inflammatory medication.
At Nedd Chiropractic & Wellness Center, the doctor may order additional x-rays to specifically look for ligament sprains as well as minor spinal misalignments called subluxations, as well as MRIs to identify spinal disc problems. After a thorough history and examination which includes palpation of painful areas and tight muscles, range of motion assessment, posture analysis, and muscle strength testing, you will receive a tailored car accident treatment program that typically includes gentle chiropractic adjustments using Activator Methods Technique, Cold Laser Therapy, Nutritional Support for accelerated healing, and then later on rehabilitative physical therapy including gentle traction or computerized Spinal Decompression and home exercises.
Is it Safe?
Treatment is not administered until a thorough history, exam, and diagnostics which may include x-rays and MRIs are taken to allow us to safely deliver care. Dr. Nedd primarily utilizes the precise and gentle chiropractic instrument adjusting technique called Activator Methods which is the world’s most popular instrument adjusting technique and the second most popular chiropractic technique on the planet. He has utilized this safely and effectively with auto accident patients for over 30 years just like thousands of other chiropractic physicians throughout the United States and worldwide.
How Long Does it Take?
Car accident recovery time depends on many factors including the seriousness of the injury, what tissues have been injured, and each person’s individual ability to heal.
Muscles and the connective tissue called fascia tend to heal rather quickly because they get a direct blood supply. However, other soft tissues such as tendons and ligaments take much longer to heal, oftentimes 3-9 months or even longer because they have a minimal blood supply.
Spinal discs don’t have a blood supply – they absorb water and nutrients through osmosis like a sponge, so lack of blood flow makes them more vulnerable to damage from injuries and slow to recover and fully heal. Disc bulges are the least damaging and can heal the fastest, whereas disc herniations are more serious and can take much longer to heal. Gentle chiropractic and traction along with cartilage regenerating nutrition are excellent for many disc conditions. If a spinal disc rupture creating loose fragments that end up compressing nerves or impinging on the spinal cord, then surgery may be required.
Won’t Soft Tissue Injuries Just Heal on Their Own?
Yes, but the problem is that that if they heal with the neck, back or any other part of the body where the soft tissues attach to is shifted out of alignment due to an auto accident injury such as the head being shifted forward and the neck being straight or having a reversed curve, the spine bent sideways, or one of the shoulders jutted forward, then long-term health issues and even disabilities could potentially result including chronic muscle tension, scar tissue or adhesion, stretched ligaments that can cause joint instability, disc degeneration, arthritis, and even joint fusion.
Why take a chance hoping that everything heals perfectly after an accident when you can have tailored care to help you potentially heal optimally. Our office is a general practice, but is also an experienced accident care and treatment center.
Our Goal
Our goal is to help you get back to as close to how you were before your accident in the quickest amount of time. Sometimes patients end up in better shape than before their car accident!
Common Questions
- Why do I have pain in my arms and hands as well as leg pain after my car accident?
Because the nerves to the arms and hands exit the spine through the injured area of the neck, numbness and tingling are common. Even lower back pain which can refer pain down the legs can result directly from the trauma, or as a reaction to the loss of proper spinal curves. The knees and thighs can also be injured by impacting the dash during a car accident.
- Why am I having chest and lower abdominal pain after my accident?
This can commonly be due to the seat belt engaging during an accident and the amount of force translated to the body from the accident impact resulting in bruising and potentially more serious injuries including broken ribs. An airbag deploying forcefully against the front chest wall can also result in chest pain and bruising.
- How long should I be sore after a car accident?
That again depends on the seriousness of the injury, the type of tissues injured, and your individual ability to heal. A thorough exam and diagnostics will help predict this along with understanding any underlying health conditions that you may have, and how well you respond to the recommended care.