High speeds, misjudgment, and sheer bad luck often cause devastating car accidents, resulting in pain and injury. According to Forbes, there were more than 5 million car accidents in the US alone in 2020.
Reports show that car accident injuries are one of the leading causes of injury-related disability. A car accident can cause physical injury to the joints, muscles, and soft tissues. After seeking initial medical treatment for any visible injuries, if required, you must consider visiting a car accident chiropractor to rule out any internal injuries and prevent them from becoming a chronic problem .
By realigning your muscles and joints, a chiropractor can save you from lengthy and painful treatments like surgeries. People aware of the chiropractic care setup know you may require multiple visits and ongoing care for a specific problem.
If you intend to see a chiropractor following a car crash, one of the questions you will have in mind the question of “how many chiropractic visits after a car accident” which is what we will answer in this guide.
Time and Chiropractic Sessions Required For Healing
The number of visits to chiropractic treatment and the time required for complete resolution of symptoms depends on the following factors:
Severity of Injury
The extent of auto injury mainly determines the number of chiropractor sessions you might need. Accident victims with bone fractures and soft tissue tears need to see the chiropractor more often than those with minor sprains or fatigue.
There is no clear cut answer to the duration and number of chiropractic visits after car accidents. You might get complete pain relief for minor injuries with a few visits only within a couple of weeks. However, for serious complications, you might need treatment lasting several months.
People commonly visit the chiropractor three to five times per week immediately after auto injury. The car accident chiropractor tapers the visits to once or twice per week as your pain starts to subside. Follow up visits will continue until the complete absolution of symptoms.
Age
Young patients with an active lifestyle have faster healing and require fewer chiropractor visits than senior citizens.
General Health
The overall well-being of the car accident victim also plays an integral role in healing. People with comorbidities, such as diabetes and cardiovascular issues, have slower rates of healing. Similarly, those with chronic pain disorders like osteoarthritis take longer to recover.
Chiropractic Visits for Common Auto Accident Injuries
In most car crash cases, victims need more than one chiropractic visit. Chiropractors provide targeted therapy for accident injuries. The treatment plan can include procedures like spinal manipulation, spinal traction, electrical muscle stimulation, etc.
The following are some types of injuries during car accidents, with the number of chiropractic visits required for each as discussed below:
Neck Whiplash Injuries
Commonly known as the neck strain, a whiplash injury is the most common injury in road traffic accidents. It occurs when the head and neck experience sudden and rapid front and back motion or vice versa. Whiplash injuries are frequently seen in rear-end automobile accidents. The main symptoms of whiplash injuries include neck pain, stiffness, and muscle spasms.
A chiropractor can effectively relieve you of neck pain and mobility difficulties. Patients receiving chiropractic treatment and physical therapy report better healing than no conventional treatment.
Chiropractors suggest you visit the clinic three to five times weekly for the first couple weeks after diagnosis. If you respond well, you can continue to visit once every. It typically takes up to three months to heal completely.
Spine Injuries
A major common consequence of a car crash is spine injury. There can be multiple symptoms of a spinal cord injury depending on the region of the nervous system involved. Pain, numbness, burning, and tingling are common nerve symptoms.
Cervical injuries present as neck and shoulder pain. Trauma can often cause sciatica, characterized by radiating pain from the buttocks to the toes. The majority of spinal injuries occur in more severe car turn-over accidents. The lumbosacral region is the most frequently involved part. In moderate cases, patients require three to five chiropractic visits for six to eight weeks.
Back Injuries
Chiropractic care is a useful therapy for issues of the upper and lower back musculoskeletal structures. Many patients prefer taking rest for the strained back muscles, but even ample rest often doesn’t make up for the trauma sustained.
Chiropractors recommend taking six to twelve chiropractic sessions for about four weeks. In general, acute back pain after an accident can resolve in a couple of weeks. Do not ignore back pain after an accident because it might be indicative of a slipped disc or other spinal injuries.
Knee Injuries
A high impact car collision often impacts the knee joint as it hits against the dashboard or the steering wheel, leading to dislocation, meniscal tear, or even a fracture.
A meniscus tear can take a few weeks to heal through chiropractic adjustments. In the case of fractures, the chiropractic session frequency is greater than that of soft tissue injury.
In case of a knee fracture, you might have to visit a chiropractor about three to five times a week for at least three to five weeks. The duration can go up to twelve weeks or even more, depending on the severity of the fracture. Continue chiropractic therapy for the entire duration along with following guidelines for medical care.
Hand and Wrist Injuries
Injuries to the hand and wrist are not uncommon in a car accident. Blunt trauma to the hand can cause significant pain. Hand and wrist injuries sustained in a car crash range from torn ligaments to dislocations and fractures. We heavily rely on our hands for daily chores, and the recovery process is slow and loathsome.
Chiropractic help can speed up the healing process. Treatment for most wrist injuries can last four to six weeks, involving realigning or stretching. However, the exact duration comes down to the severity of the condition.
Soft Tissue Injuries
A tendon or ligament tear constitutes a soft tissue injury. The blunt force trauma causes inflammation of the tissues. For these types of injuries, chiropractors adopt specialized soft tissue techniques such as active release technique (ART). Five sessions of ART have been shown to reduce pain and improve function effectively.
Where to Go After a Car Accident?
A car crash is a traumatizing experience that can have long-term health consequences and leave you in excruciating pain. Even those who take personal injury protection seriously can fall prey to accident-associated injuries. Whiplash and back and spine injuries are the most common outcomes of a car accident.
Numerous people seek chiropractic therapy for post-accident pain relief. The exact duration and frequency of sessions required depends mainly on the type and severity of the injury. Most soft tissue injuries generally require visiting a chiropractor two to five times a week for two to four weeks.
However, for serious spinal injuries and bone fractures, recovery times are longer, requiring treatment for anywhere between six to twelve weeks, depending on the condition.
If you are a victim of a crash accident, we suggest you visit a chiropractor at the earliest instead of waiting for things to worsen.
The expert injury doctors at the Logan Osland Chiropractic have vast experience in dealing with soft and hard tissue injuries.
Our state-of-the-art clinic aims to provide specialized, holistic chiropractic care for different car accident injuries and restore your health within minimal visits.
References:
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3. Fernández-de-las-Peñas C, Fernández-Carnero J, Del Cerro LP, Miangolarra-Page JC. Manipulative treatment vs. conventional physiotherapy treatment in whiplash injury: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Whiplash & Related Disorders. 2004 Jan 1;3(2):73-90.
4. Fakharian E, Mohammadzadeh M, Saberi H, Fazel M, Rejali M, Akbari H, Mirzadeh A, Mohammadzadeh J. Spinal injury resulting from car accident: Focus to prevention. Asian journal of neurosurgery. 2017 Jun;12(02):180-4.
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