If you have been in a car accident and have suffered an injury; the five most dangerous words you can say or think are “maybe it will go away”. Immediately following an injury our body starts the healing process, whether it is doing it correctly or not. An injury being allowed to heal incorrectly leads to lifelong changes if not addressed immediately. Also, do not be fooled if you are in a car accident and do not feel any pain after. Not all injuries have immediate symptoms. Sometimes, people feel nothing after being in a car accident and don’t think to even get checked out, only to discover later in life that they did suffer serious injuries later on.
The truth is that accidents can cause serious injuries that go undetected for weeks or even months after the crash. If not treated properly, these injuries can lead to long-term health problems such as loss of mobility and the development of arthritic or degenerative changes that cannot be reversed.
Auto Injury Symptoms
There are a few auto injury symptoms that you should look out for after being in a car accident:
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Loss of normal range of motion
- Neck pain
- Shoulder pain
- Back pain
- Numbness or tingling in the extremities
- Weakness or heaviness of the arms, hands, legs and/or feet
These auto injury symptoms are more often than not due to damage to various soft tissues within the body. The types of soft tissue involved in these injuries are muscles, tendons, ligaments and spinal discs. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, or any other symptoms that are not normal to you, it is vital to seek medical help as soon as possible.
Life-Altering Effects
If auto injuries are not treated properly, they can lead to several life-altering effects. When an injury is not properly treated or is ignored and allowed to heal incorrectly, then you are left with a change that is more often than not permanent and that change is now something that becomes “the new you”. If you have ever spoken to someone who talked about an old injury and said, “I haven’t been the same since”, these are mostly people who have suffered an injury that healed incorrectly or received improper or ineffective treatment for that injury. There are some injuries that no matter what will leave you with some life altering effects; however, receiving immediate and proper treatment for that injury can significantly minimize the long term effects of the injury. Some life-altering effects can include:
- Chronic pain – Auto injuries can cause damage to the body that if left untreated or is treated with substandard care can lead to chronic pain.
- Nerve damage – Damage to your spinal discs can lead to irritation or impingement of a nerve that can cause numbness, tingling, and weakness in the extremities.
- Loss of mobility – Auto injuries can limit your range of motion and make it difficult to perform everyday activities, which can affect many other areas of your life.
- Depression, anxiety, or PTSD – When symptoms from an auto injury go untreated and left alone in the hopes that “maybe it will go away” but they never really do, this can lead to depression and other mental health problems because of the stress and rapid negative changes they can cause.
Treatment for Auto Injury
Injury Treatment Solutions is an auto injury treatment clinic that effectively treats auto injuries using various techniques and modalities geared toward allowing and helping the injury heal correctly, or as correctly as possible. Injuries from a car crash can be looked at as physical and structural injuries (structure being muscle, tendons, ligaments, joints and spinal discs) that require physical and structural treatment.
This treatment includes:
- A thorough physical exam is always done first. This physical exam includes orthopedic and neurological testing not only to further assess the initial complaints but to also look to see if there are any other things going on that might not be so obvious at the beginning. If your only symptom after a car crash is neck pain and headaches, we will not only examine that area, but also examine the middle and lower back as well to make sure that no other symptoms are there that are being masked by the primary area of pain.
- Diagnostic testing. At Injury Treatment Solutions we offer digital x-ray in the office. Treatment is not started until after at least x-rays have been performed and reviewed with you on that very same day during your first visit.
- Medical Care. At Injury Treatment Solutions we have a medical doctor or their nurse practitioner in house who can prescribe the appropriate medication to help with the initial pain from the injuries when necessary.
- Exercise/Physical Rehabilitation. After a car crash you may feel like your head is heavy or you can’t sit or stand up straight. Strengthening the damaged muscle back to what they were prior to the injury will help you get back to acting and feeling normal again. Strengthening the muscle will also help hold other joint, tendon, ligament and disc injuries in the correct position so that those injuries heal correctly as well.
- Passive Therapies. Passive means you sit still and machines do the work. These therapies will reduce swelling, inflammation, adhesions and scar tissue. These therapies include (when appropriate); interferential electric muscle stimulation, diathermy, ice and/or heat therapy, infrared light therapy, ultrasound and spinal traction/decompression.
- Chiropractic Treatment. Chiropractic manipulation of the joints involved in your injury will keep those affected joints mobile and aligned so that as the muscle is strengthened and the inflammation is reduced with the other treatments, you regain and keep your mobility. Manipulation is very safe and very effective. There are multiple techniques that can be used and will only be using gentle and painless techniques. Not all techniques involve “popping” joints.
Every aspect of your injury, directly or indirectly, are addressed with this treatment.
If you’ve been injured and are now looking for a medical team that cares about your health and wellbeing, look no further than Injury Treatment Solutions. We will properly diagnose your injuries and create a personalized treatment plan that will help you get on the road to recovery..
Seek Medical Help Right Away
In Florida, auto insurance companies require people to seek medical treatment within 14 days of the accident. Suppose you don’t see a chiropractor, medical doctor, or nurse practitioner within 14 days from your car accident. In that case, you will lose all of your car insurance Personal Injury Protection (PIP) that you have been paying for years.
More often than not, there is a delay in symptoms starting for as long as 4-6 weeks after the accident. Whether you have symptoms or not, you should seek medical attention immediately and not take a chance being close to the cut-off date (i.e., get checked by day 13) from your accident. Seek medical attention right away before it’s too late and you lose all coverage.
Our office provides you with minimal wait times, and we treat all of our patients like family. Get started on the road to recovery today by contacting Injury Treatment Solutions today at (321) 888-8888.
