This is highly individualized. Some patients recover very quickly and can be released as soon are a recurrence of pain is determined will not happen. Most patients will need to be treated for four to twelve weeks. Over the years I have had some patients ask me, “How long do I have to come for treatment”? In fact, sometimes this reveals a secondary gain motive by the patient.
When I get this question, I am quick to tell them that my objective is get them resolved of their pain and problems, and as soon as we decide they are better, and will stay better, that is when a release from further treatment is appropriate. The implication I intend to convey is that I am not part of some scheme to treat them needlessly for an insurance settlement. Most patients appreciate that I have no other motives in treating them.
Some patients will stop treatment abruptly because they improve quickly. That is perfectly fine with me. I am not treating patients for my sake. I am treating them for their sake.
Do I Need to See a Chiropractor After a Car Accident?
You may not. But I do recommend that if you had an auto accident, that you get examined by a chiropractor. The examination is designed to elicit any pain you may have from your potential injuries. It is quite common for patients to think they have no injuries, or mild injuries, and be very surprised that examination reveals pains and limitations of which they were unaware.
Generally, when that is the case, they will want to do some treatment until their complaints are resolved. That may not require much treatment, but the examination establishes some problems that need to be resolved at the time of a subsequent, comparative examination. At that time, the patient and doctor can feel reasonably confident that the noted injuries are resolved, and the patient is unlikely to suffer from any chronic complaints from the injury.
When Do I Need to Visit the Chiropractor After a Car Accident?
I recommend you see a chiropractor soon after an auto accident. This is for two general reasons.
The first is medical. Evaluating the potential injuries is a good idea because it can result in advisable diagnostic, treatment, and ergonomic recommendations that are important in the short and long term. For example, some patients are surprised by the extent and severity of their injuries, as revealed by the examination. After all, that is the purpose of examination. To reveal problems that are, and are not, readily apparent to the subjective senses.
The second reason to have an evaluation done soon after an auto accident, is to document, as soon as possible, the injuries for which the insurance company may be culpable. This is the medicolegal component and reason. And it is the unpleasant reality of auto accidents, that you are immediately in an adversarial position with the insurance company and you must establish and protect your medicolegal rights to medical treatment as soon as possible, because the insurance companies protect their financial interests, even if it means compromising your medical interests.
Why Should You See A Chiropractor After A Car Accident?
I recommend you see a chiropractor soon after an auto accident. This is for two general reasons. The first is medical. Evaluating the potential injuries is a good idea because it can result in advisable diagnostic, treatment, and ergonomic recommendations that are important in the short and long term. For example, some patients are surprised by the extent and severity of their injuries, as revealed by the examination. After all, that is the purpose of examination. To reveal problems that are, and are not, readily apparent to the subjective senses.
The second reason to have an evaluation done soon after an auto accident, is to document, as soon as possible, the injuries for which the insurance company may be culpable. This is the medicolegal component and reason. And it is the unpleasant reality of auto accidents, that you are immediately in an adversarial position with the insurance company and you must establish and protect your medicolegal rights to medical treatment as soon as possible, because the insurance companies protect their financial interests, even if it means compromising your medical interests.
What Techniques Do Chiropractors Use To Treat Car Accident-Related Injuries?
Chiropractors do use many techniques in treating auto accident patients. These include electrical stimulation, ultrasound, heat, ice, exercises, low intensity shock wave, laser light, LED light, mobilization, manipulation of many kinds, soft tissue types of treatment, massage, traction, and more.
The treatment methods vary among chiropractors, and the treatments may change for the patient, over the course of their treatment, as they progress. Of course, the patient’s response to the treatments also plays a large role in the treatment. Sometimes treatments change because the patient’s symptoms benefit more from one treatment than another.
What Can I Expect During My First Visit To A Chiropractor After An Accident?
The first thing to be done is to obtain a history of the auto accident. This provides many details about the nature of the injuries and potential injuries, and the mechanism of injuries.
After that, an examination is conducted to determine what are the injuries and diagnoses, what are the proper diagnostic tests to be done, is referral to another medical specialist appropriate, and what treatments, recommendations and advice should be given to optimize the eventual desired outcome, which is, hopefully, healing and resolution of the injuries as soon as possible.
Treatment of some sort is usually initiated at that first visit, but infrequently may be deferred until some diagnostic testing is done and results received. In addition to the initial treatment, you should receive some information about what to do, and not do, when you’re not getting treatment. For example, do not put a heating pad on a recent injury, as it will increase the inflammation that was caused by, and remains, the source of your pain. And don’t spend your time sitting in bad places like soft sofas, rigid chairs, in bed, or for too long, without taking frequency breaks.
You may also be informed about over-the-counter medications. When to take them, must you take them, etc.
What Benefits Can I Expect From Chiropractic Care After An Accident?
You can expect a competent healthcare professional who will shepherd you to maximum medical improvement. Usually, the chiropractor will be able to help you recover to 100% with the need for referral to another medical specialist. But there are occasions when you may need referral to another specialist, and you can expect that the chiropractor will recognize that need if it arises, and refer you to whomever else you need to see for evaluation and treatment. Sometimes that means pain management for injections, or an orthopedist for concurrent care or evaluation and treatment, or a spine surgeon for surgical consultation, or a physical therapist for physical therapy.
Most of the time you can expect that you will recover without residual problems and pain from your auto accident injuries. That may take weeks to months, but most people will eventually recover, symptomatically, 100%.
When Should I Stop Chiropractic Treatments?
In the context of treatment for an auto accident, once the patient is improved, and hopefully resolved of their pains, I like to wait about two more weeks, without doing any further treatment, to make sure that the pains do not return. And that is usually the case. Of course, this also assumes that the patient has already returned to all of the usual work and personal activities.
The objective with any medical treatment is to get the patient to what we term, “maximum medical improvement”. This is defined as the best possible health outcome with all appropriate treatments. Sometimes this can be accomplished with treatment from one healthcare provider, and other times it may require treatment from several healthcare providers. And, reaching maximum medical improvement sometimes results in a 100% improvement, back to your normal, pre-existing status, but other times it may mean that you have only improved to less than 100% of your normal, previous health status.
Can You Share Some Real World Experiences With Chiropractic Care After An Auto Accident?
I completed Diploma & certified of graduation from Palmer-West Chiropractic College 1986. Their website is https://www.palmer.edu
Started I have been in practice since 1987, participating in the treatment of more than 40,000 patients & most of whom were auto accident patients, in a high-volume, orthopedic, physical medicine and physical therapy clinic, so I have seen all sorts of injuries, diagnoses, treatments, and treatment outcomes.
Most patients will recover, symptomatically, within several weeks to months, with proper treatment. But some will not.
It turns out that the status of patients’ injuries, and their eventual recovery is a product of many variables. Auto accidents contribute to all of the person’s lifetime of physical injuries. These physical traumas, both micro and macro, result in degenerative changes, which results in a lowering of threshold for pain. The more degenerative changes that pre-exist an auto accident, the more likely the person will have more painful symptoms, and the greater the likelihood they may not fully recover from their injuries.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I see a chiropractor even if I don’t feel any immediate pain after the car accident?
Answer: Good question. Sometimes after an auto accident, people don’t feel pain. Other times they start to feel pain one week later. This may happen because they have returned to doing some activity in a more demanding way that provokes pain.
It is probably best to get evaluated by a doctor after an auto accident, even if you don’t feel pain, because the doctor can examine you to see if he/she can provoke any pain by doing range of motion, orthopedic testing, or palpation. Often times patients will be surprised that they have pain when they are examined that hasn’t been readily apparent to them, simply from doing their normal activities of daily living.
If you wait and feel pain later, the insurance company will probably deny that you had any consequential injuries from the auto accident, and will probably deny any liability or willingness to pay for any treatment you may need. So for both medical and medicolegal reasons, it is best for you to get an examination by a doctor within a few days of any auto accident, even if you are not feeling any pain.
Will my insurance cover chiropractic treatment for accident-related injuries?
Answer: Yes, your insurance company will cover chiropractic treatment for auto accident related injuries. But they will also want to know that your injuries are accident related, and they can try to recover payment from another insurance company if you have a claim against another insured person. This process is called subrogation. Usually, however, if you eventually settle a claim against the other person’s insurance company, you will not have to reimburse your own insurance company.
In any case, is you have health insurance or you have a legal claim against another person’s insurance company, you will not end up paying for any of your required chiropractic, or other necessary healthcare treatment.
Is chiropractic care safe for accident-related injuries?
Answer: Yes, they are. Chiropractors are probably the most sought after healthcare professionals for treatment after auto accident injuries. They are educated and trained to evaluate injuries and treat them safely and appropriately. And the safety of chiropractic treatment is evinced by their very low rates of malpractice insurance.
Your chiropractor will conduct a history of the circumstances of your auto accident and do an examination to determine your injuries. Then he/she will decide if further diagnostic imaging or testing is indicated, and whether you need referral to another healthcare provider for adjunctive evaluation or treatment.
Initial care will usually be passive modalities for pain relief, and instruction in what you should do at home, and how you should manage or modify your activities and postures during the course of your recovery. Later treatment may include chiropractic adjustments or exercises.
There are certainly contraindications to chiropractic adjustments and other treatments, but these are uncommon, and your chiropractor is assessing this throughout the course of your treatment.
Are there any side effects of chiropractic treatment after a car accident?
Answer: The objective of chiropractic care for auto accident related injuries is to get you as close to your pre-accident health status as possible. Usually, this is possible. But, occasionally, patients don’t recover fully.
Any side effects from chiropractic treatment should be short-lived. For example, sometimes the treatments might cause some brief discomfort. But that is usually because the injured tissues are inflamed and any movement of them can be uncomfortable in the short term. What is more important than transient responses to the treatments, is the longer term benefit. So, for example, patients may feel sore from moving their back or neck, but by the next day should note overall improvement and progress in their condition.
If, on the other hand, a patient was not improving or felt worse, this is not normal and warrants consideration of other diagnostic testing, or referral to another medical specialist or evaluation and/or treatment
Can chiropractic care prevent long-term complications from accident injuries?
Answer: Yes. Most auto accident related injuries are “soft-tissue” injuries. This means that bones are not broken, but soft tissues like ligaments, discs, muscles, tendons, fascia, blood vessels and nerves are damaged. These tissue injuries are microscopic in nature, but this is what happens in acceleration caused injuries to your body.
During the healing process of these injuries it is important to provide the tissues with cues of function, so that they heal in a functional way, without residual, chronic pain. This requires that these tissues move under their normal stresses as soon as possible. In the past, patients were commonly immobilized for injuries, and we learned that this is not the best way to optimize long term recovery. Sometimes injuries need brief immobilization, but as soon as possible, imposing the normal movements and stress to these tissues, results in better long term treatment outcomes. Your chiropractic treatment should result in progressive improvements of your pain, function and tolerance for your normal activities, and the prevention of long term complications from accident injuries.
Should I continue chiropractic care even if I start feeling better after a few visits?
Answer: The objective of chiropractic care, whenever possible, is resolution of your pain, return to your functional capacity, and tolerance for all your normal activities. Chiropractic care is expected to result in improvements within the first week or two. That doesn’t mean resolution of your pain, but notable improvements in both pain and function.
Resolution of your pain will usually take four to twelve weeks, but this is, of course, variable. Some patients may feel resolved with one to two weeks. Others may have pain for months before they reach maximum medical improvement. Depending upon the duration of treatment, I suggest that rather than an immediate release from care once you are resolved of symptoms, that you are better advised to wait for two weeks without treatment to make sure you don’t have a recurrence of pain in the absence of treatment. This can happen, and when it does, indicates that a tapering off of treatment is a better idea for your injuries.
Choose BackStrong Non Surgical Rehab Clinic – Owner Dr. Craig Castanet Share His Experience About – How Long Should I Go To A Chiropractor After An Accident?
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Related Article Write By Dr. Craig Castanet.
1. Are Chiropractic Adjustments Safe After A Car Accident
Dr. Craig Castanet D.C. is a chiropractor specialist & Founder of Backstrong Non-Surgical Rehab Clinic. Our office is located at 2771 Lawrenceville Hwy #101, Decatur, GA 30033. For the last 35+ years he has participated in the treatment of more than 40,000 patients, in orthopedics, physical medicine, physical therapy, and neurosurgical clinics. If you live in the Decatur, Ga area and have neck or back problems, you owe it to yourself to see us for your problem. If you have any question about chiropractic care & Treatment. You can use our contact page or social media profile anytime & we will communicate with you soon.
