Most people have one thing on their mind after a car accident- their car! However, it is important to remember, cars can be hammered back into shape and replaced, you cannot be! It's important to prioritize you! A visit to a chiropractor should always follow an auto injury, as there is usually something to realign, even in the most perceived benign collisions. In almost 40 years of practice, I have yet to examine someone after any auto accident and not find something to realign or strengthen. And this goes for someone of any age involved in the accident. Children are very often overlooked by adults in this area, especially if they are not complaining of any discomfort. And do not assume that an infant in a car seat escaped unharmed. There are vectors of force in any collision, and they are going to enter, and exit every body in the vehicle, and everyone is effected differently, depending on their position in the car, how their head may have been turned at the moment, their body mass, and the strength of their ligaments. Women and children typically have less ligament strength than men, and can have completely different injuries from the same accident. Many times upon examining a new patient I will say to them, oh, you had a car accident, seems about 20 years ago right? They always wonder how I can tell, especially if it was many years ago. Well, it's simple, an auto accident leaves behind predictable injuries, that not too many other things can account for. My pat saying, "the bones never lie", they reveal everything you have been impacted by throughout your life!
How Can a Chiropractor Help Me After My Auto Accident?
Chiropractors are well trained to detect, and treat neck, back, and other injuries associated with auto accidents. Many times, individuals who have been injured in a car accident experience such minor symptoms that they do not seek evaluation, and this is a sad mistake. When left untreated, these significant, yet quiet vertebral subluxations, or knee, shoulder, thumb, collar bone, ribcage or sternum misalignments commonly found after auto accidents, do not re-center themselves, rather they lead to a slow quiet progressive degenerative state over time..
Most people believe that arthritis comes with old age, or that it is inherited.. This is not an absolute. I would say rather, that arthritis, osteoarthritis, shows up in old age, because it takes many years to develop, and that families tend to have similar diets, similar habits While you may inherit a skeletal type from your family, you each have had different forces effect your bodies, different habits, and that is what is causing your arthritis . It has been slowly progressing from "minor injuries" that caused spinal or extremity misalignments that make uneven weight distribution to joints, leading to the bony changes we see later on in life. The skeleton doesn't form itself, and then its work is done! Bone is very much alive, and constantly remolding itself to the stresses put upon it. This is called Wolff's law. Many people do not think they have been injured in an auto accident if they do not have serious pain or discomfort and assume any minor discomfort is normal, and should be ignored. It is imperative to seek chiropractic care after an auto accident to be evaluated for any soft tissue damage or misalignment that has occurred. When spinal subluxations are left untreated, they lead to a predictable progression of degeneration and osteoarthritis that does not have to be.
After an auto accident, some individuals experience indicators of whiplash injuries right away, such as blurred vision, headaches, shoulder pain, dizziness, reduced range of motion, stabbing arm pain, or tingling or numbness in the fingers or feet. Whiplash can also result in minor back injuries, muscle injuries, ligament problems, and disc damage. Complaints of thumbs, wrists, chest, and knees and feet, are all very very common. And as I have noted, other individuals may be injured and feel nothing at all and will unfortunately ignore things that will lead to further issues.
It is a good habit after any auto injury to make it a priority to visit the chiropractor to be evaluated for any imbalances that may have occurred in order to prevent future muscular skeletal weaknesses and degeneration.