Auto accidents and chiropractic care
Auto accidents are simply a fact of life in the United States. With over 250 million cars and trucks in the nation, crashes are often unavoidable. Of course, any car accident can cause long-term pain and complications for the survivors. Chief among these is neck pain.
Neck pain can result from a variety of car crash injuries, but the most common is whiplash. Traditional medicine is often frustrated by chronic whiplash pain and the restricted movement and loss of function that usually accompanies it. Oftentimes, addictive narcotic medications or risky surgeries are the only options offered. However, chiropractic provides another path for treatment of chronic neck pain caused by auto crashes.
How common are neck injuries from car accidents?
There are roughly 1.7 million rear end collisions per year in the US. Rear end impacts are the type of accident most likely to cause whiplash and therefore neck pain. Of those collisions, around 500,000, or about one-third, result in an injury. That’s a massive number of potential neck pain patients every year.
How long does car accident neck pain usually Last?
Unfortunately, neck pain resulting from an auto accident is often long lasting. A University of Alberta study found that over 35 percent of victims reported neck pain 3 months after their accident, while 18 percent of patients were still experiencing neck pain a year post accident. Out of all the patients in the study, 5 percent still had pain 10 years from the date of injury. Notably, all of these patients had neck injuries that were classified as only mild to moderate. It stands to reasons that people with severe injuries can expect to be in pain even further into the future.
What can help?
There have been a host of post-auto accident injury studies that have all reached the same conclusion: early treatment is best. Victims often think their pain will go away by itself or won’t become any worse. This is a mistake. Clinical research has shown that early examination and treatment, specifically spine mobilization, provides the best outcome for neck injury patients, including those with whiplash associated disorders.
What is spine mobilization?
Simply put, spine mobilization means putting the vertebrae and joints of the spine through passive and active motion. Passive motion is when the spine is moved by an outside force, such as a chiropractor performing adjustments or spinal traction treatment. Active motion is when the patient themselves moves their spine, like when exercising or stretching. Chiropractic incorporates both passive and active mobilization into treatment modalities for neck pain.
What are the benefits of chiropractic care after a car accident?
Chiropractic offers a wide range of treatment modalities to effectively address and reduce neck pain caused by an auto accident. Just as importantly, chiropractic care can prevent further neck pain as well.
These treatments include traditional manual adjustments to the cervical (neck area) spine as well as lower spinal segments, physiotherapy in the form of traction and specific exercises and many other techniques. All of the aforementioned treatments are gentle, non-invasive and require no drugs or surgery. They are also appropriate for all ages, including young children and the elderly.
Car accident victims who are experiencing pain in any body area shouldn’t wait. Seeing a chiropractor right away is important. Early care is critical and can make the difference between a short course of non-invasive therapy and the need for surgery or a life filled with pain.
Chiropractor Dr. Weigle | Absolute Health Chiropractic | 2720 NW 6th St #1 | Gainesville, FL 32609 | (352) 377-7373