Seek a Chiropractor after being involved in a motor vehicle accident
Make sure to seek medical attention from a chiropractor after being involved in a car accident, even if you don’t look like you got hurt. As a victim in a car crash, make sure to see an accident chiropractor for two main reasons – pursuing a lawsuit against the driver in error and for the sake of your health. You can only file a lawsuit if you have gone through the diagnosis and documentation of injuries and treatment is available. Severe injuries are possible in an auto accident, but some of them are invisible and not felt instantly but can cause trouble in the future.
Why you should seek medical attention after being involved in a motor vehicle accident
Victims in a car accident can sustain various kinds of injuries, but it is difficult to tell the type you might have suffered because they depend on the nature of the accident. The type of injury majorly depends on the severity of the accident, but in some other cases, minor auto accidents cause damage to the body. Injuries and damage caused by a car crash depends on three main factors which are
- Type of the accident which can either be
- Rear-ended collision
- T- Bone accident
- Single-vehicle accident
- The speed at which the vehicle(s) was moving when the accident occurred
- The state of the passenger(s)
- Where were they in the car
- Did they have their safety belt fastened
Even if the accident happened under the ‘best’ circumstances (low speed, safety belt fastened and hit at the back), you might have suffered an injury as well. The reason why any accident is likely to cause harm is the fact that the driver was subjected to unexpected force, making him or her react in an unplanned manner. In a rear-end, the driver and the occupants are likely to jerk their necks forward and then fling backward, causing damage to the neck.
Here is a list of possible injuries after a car crash
1. Invisible Injuries
Some injuries are apparent at any time you are involved in a car accident. Such damages include bruises, fractured bones, and a few scratches. We mostly disregard such injuries as minimal, but later pain starts getting the better of us after several weeks. The best way of dealing with invisible wounds inflicted in you is by visiting a chiropractor to check if you suffered any injuries.
2. Reduce Inflammation
Common injuries in a car accident involve the joints and the muscles. Depending on the nature of the accident, ligaments and discs suffer injuries but might take time to feel the pain. Inflammatory chemicals such as endorphins are released to help reduce pain and allow the body to function normally. If involved in an accident, you should visit a chiropractor immediately because patients respond quickly to care and treatment if it stars early enough. None of the injuries to the ligaments and the muscles will appear in an XRAY, and a regular doctor will say everything looks fine. Waiting till you start feeling pain causes unnecessary swelling, which can be done away with joint mobilization and strengthening.
3. Target Trouble Areas
Muscle and tissue injury are not the only possible cause of pain after an auto crash. Any time you have an accident, the initial response by the body is to repair the affected tissues, which result in the creation of scar tissue. Scar tissue builds up at the site of the injury, which presents itself in various ways. The build-up of scar tissues has adverse effects in the body, such as darkening of the skin, and in acute cases, it leads to itchiness and pain, which might require surgery or restrict normal movement. It is better to avoid the development of scar tissues or reduce them by visiting a Chiropractor immediately after an accident. Chiropractors can use some techniques that lead to the target areas where scar tissues have piled and facilitate their break up process. Visiting a chiropractor assures you of feeling less sore and makes the body be in as of healing faster.
4. Realign the Spine
A chiropractor helps realign the spinal column facilitating the release of chemicals that help reduce inflammatory pain, thus improving the healing process. Seeking the services of a Chiropractor early enough helps minimize treatment costs, and mostly no surgery is required after that unless it is necessary.
5. Solving Problems Before They Become Serious
Keeping invisible injuries and scars untreated for long might get you into trouble later in life, and therefore treating them helps avoid long term complications. Some injuries take years to heal, while others like injured tissues take weeks or months. Considering a car accident as minor and failing to seek medical attention should never be the case because the minor injuries might pose long term effects later.
6. Relieving the Pain
Seeking the assistance of a chiropractor helps in reducing the pain you are suffering from because he or she understands the soft tissue injuries better. The chiropractor is trained and able to adjust to help you heal naturally without using any drugs. The chiropractor applies spine manipulations to trigger the release of pain-relieving hormones in the body. Most people resort to taking painkillers after being involved in an auto accident, but they inhibit pain for a short time. Taking painkillers for a long time is highly addictive, and if you stop taking them, you will have withdrawal symptoms. Chiropractors help relieve the pain completely, but pain killers mask the pain. The chiropractor helps assess the pain and initiates natural treatment plans.
7. Helpful in Making a Record of Injuries
Seeking medical services immediately after the crash gives the chiropractor a chance to record all your damages. With the documents, he or she will be able to initiate your treatment plan, and on the other hand, it will be easy to file a claim if the accident was another person’s mistake. The chiropractor’s record, medical diagnosis is needed in filing a lawsuit against the reckless driver.
Is Chiropractic Care Covered under Car Insurance?
Now that you know why you should always see a chiropractor after a car accident, you might be asking yourself, does insurance pay for chiropractic care? The answer is yes, but you must be careful to do it within the allowable time.
A victim in a car accident is entitled to get treatment using the other driver’s insurance company policy but within a given period. A victim receives a short time to seek medical diagnosis and documentation made by the chiropractor, but if that time expires, compensation for chiropractic care became hard. Some insurance company’s policies require that a victim to seek medical attention within three days, after which the victim could lose coverage. Other companies give to allow more time because some injuries appear after a few weeks because of the action of adrenaline and hormones.
Closing Remarks
Knowledge is power. Being informed helps you request or demand what you rightly deserve. If you ever get involved in a car accident, make sure to visit a chiropractic clinic. If you are a victim, the clinic will work with the insurance company of the offender to cover the expense of your medical needs.
Schedule your visit after every accident, even if you don’t feel any pain yet. You’ll be glad you did.