So you have been involved in an auto accident, and you may have many questions. The most important question you could ask is what your next steps should be to care for your body. The answer to this is important because it can impact the rest of your life. In helping your body respond to and heal from physical trauma, two people are crucial to your recovery: a soft-tissue specialist (massage therapist) and a joint specialist (chiropractor).

Car accidents can cause pain ranging from minor aches to serious injuries. Everybody responds differently to collisions and each auto accident is unique. It is vital that you receive care as soon as possible, whether you feel pain immediately following the accident or not; some serious conditions caused by car accidents do not surface for months (sometimes years) later. Pain is how body tissue communicates to the brain that it can no longer manage the stress and trauma from the accident.

Regardless of how much physical stress you think your body experienced in the car accident, it is important to have a chiropractor assess the damage done to your joints and muscles. In a systematic meta-review study performed by the U.S. National Institutes of Medicine, which included 485 articles, stated that “whiplash is the most common injury associated with motor vehicle accidents, affecting up to 83% of patients involved in collisions, and is a common cause of chronic disability.” This study also estimates that 50% of patients with an acute whiplash injury develop a long-term disability. Whiplash is associated with neck pain, neck stiffness, arm pain and paresthesias, problems with memory and concentration, and psychological distress.

Nobody plans on getting in a car accident, but when you do, contact the licensed health professionals at Pain Relief Chiropractic & Massage for a free, no-commitment consultation. We’re open six days a week for your convenience, health, and peace of mind.