About every ten seconds, someone in the United States is injured in a motor vehicle accident. By the time you finish reading this blog, about 18 people will have been injured. Fortunately, most car accidents are minor, and victims don’t sustain any life-threatening conditions. However, the story is the same for most. They are in a fender bender and walk away with nothing more that damaged pride. Chances are, they are more worried about their expensive car than any potential injuries. However, during the next few days they begin to notice an ache in their lower back. Progressively over the next few months, they may start to develop weakness in their muscles and joints, neurological symptoms, or even partial numbness or paralysis. All of this because of a “small” fender bender. Most car accident victims brush off treatment as another expense, but lack of proper rest and recovery can lead to chronic back problems.

Injuries Are Not Always Immediate

Due to the high level of adrenaline and shock, pain is often unnoticeable. But in most car accidents, regardless of the severity of the impact, the driver’s and passenger’s bodies are shaken and jostled around while being restrained by a seatbelt. Seatbelts are incredible life-saving inventions, but they can also cause harm to your body after impact.

Maybe the accident just left a few unsightly scrapes on your vehicle, or maybe there’s no damage at all! Often, people assume when their vehicle sustains minor injuries, they have also sustained only minor injuries, or none at all. However, your body is not engineered to walk away from a 20 mph run into a 4,000-pound hunk of metal on wheels unscathed.

Visiting a chiropractor after a car accident isn’t only recommended by us, however. Multiple online health companies, other chiropractors, and doctors strongly recommend visiting a chiropractor soon after a car accident. Ibuprofen can’t keep your back feeling great forever.

Effects Of An Accident

One of the most damaging effects of a car accident is whiplash. Whiplash occurs when a sudden, jarring movement of the head forces the spinal cord out of place. Whiplash destabilizes the spine and can cause intense pain as well as these other factors:

• Blurred vision
• Neck pain
• Pain in the lower back
• Shoulder pain
• Reduced range of motion in back and neck
• Dizziness
• Headaches

Your Health and a Chiropractic Visit

Early treatment of these symptoms means full healing and recovery. The sooner we can help you detect any subtle problems, the sooner the recovery process can begin. Since chiropractors specialize in the care and treatment of muscles, bones, joints, nerves, and connective tissue, they are your personal points of contact after an accident. All of those body parts are critical for your body to reach peak performance. Our bodies tend to have a domino effect when it comes to injury. A whiplash injury can take the form of back pain, neck pain, and shoulder pain. Overcoming multiple accounts of pain is overwhelming.

Fortunately, there’s chiropractic care as a primary option. Chiropractic care is a step in the right direction. A trip to the chiropractor will relieve pain, promote independence, and help you make necessary adjustments to relieve pain sustained from a motor vehicle accident. We can offer advice on foam rollers, nutrition advice, exercises to perform, and other steps to promote health. Whether your treatment includes a series of massages, a back brace, or even back surgery, we will work with you to select the best treatment option. Give us a call today!