Do I Need Chiropractic Care After An Injury?

A personal injury accident can result in injuries that require medical care. Even when you have been in a minor slip-and-fall or road accident and seem not to have sustained injuries, it is advisable to seek medical treatment in case there are internal injuries that have not manifested right away.

You may wonder whether chiropractic care is one of the medical attention you should receive, as it may seem not to be primary. This blog answers your concerns. It explains what you should know about chiropractic treatment after an accident and whether you must seek one. 

Do I Need Chiropractic Care Following an Injury?

After a personal injury accident, obtaining medical care is essential. Whether you need a chiropractor depends on the severity and type of the injury sustained. It also depends on your recovery objectives. You must additionally consider different circumstances. For example, say there is a pending civil case against your injury or injuries. In that case, you must consider the legal ramifications of obtaining chiropractic care.

Chiropractors are healthcare professionals specializing in treating musculoskeletal problems. Particularly, they address musculoskeletal problems that involve the following:

• Joints
• Muscles
• Spine
• Tendons
• Bones
• Ligaments

They provide non-invasive treatments using their hands or small instruments. These include therapeutic exercises, manipulation, manual adjustments, and other techniques. The treatments aim to realign bones to:

• Improve mobility,
• Alleviate pain, and
• Promote physical recovery and healing.

See a General Doctor First Before Visiting a Chiropractor

Before seeking chiropractic care, you want to visit a general doctor. The doctor will evaluate your needs and establish whether chiropractic treatment is crucial to your recovery needs. In some instances, further treatment or referrals to other specialists might be necessary.

Personal accident injuries vary from whiplash to surface scrapes, organ damage, and broken bones. Professionals for different medical specializations play varying roles in recovery from an accident. Emergency room doctors, for example, are skilled in stabilizing emergency TBIs. Also, they have many diagnostic tools to examine your general condition. These include X-rays, MRIs, and CT scans.

Once your condition has stabilized, an orthopedist or primary care physician (PCP) (whichever makes much sense) can coordinate your care, considering your injury or injuries. If you sustained a spinal injury or broken bones, you might require an orthopedic’s care. However, a PCP or an orthopedic doctor may also refer you to a physiotherapist or chiropractor.

Chiropractors make slight adjustments to the spinal bones and joint alignment to relieve inflammation and pain and enhance your range of motion. Chiropractic treatment can:

• Relieve generalized or specific pain without having to use drugs.
• Accelerates accident recovery and
• Inhibits the development of chronic or long-term conditions

A physiotherapist plays a complementary role in accident recovery. They assist with enhancing the range of motion and pain relief. However, a physiotherapist takes a different approach from a chiropractor. They utilize exercises and stretching.

The bottom line is that seeking chiropractic care is usually an option to facilitate healing from an accident. However, it is good to consult a physician first. If your physician does not recommend chiropractic care, inquire about it. In the end, your care might involve several healthcare professionals. These may include physiotherapists and chiropractors. 

Injuries Necessitating Seeing a Chiropractor

Chiropractic treatment can help improve various conditions and injuries. This is particularly so for those injuries associated with the musculoskeletal system. These are some of the injuries that might rewire chiropractic care:

• Headaches: Particular headaches can result from misalignment or tension in the spine and neck. Examples include migraines and tension headaches. Chiropractic treatment can assist in reducing the severity and frequency of these headaches.
• Neck injury: Neck pain can occur due to several factors, like an injury to the neck, stress, or poor posture. Chiropractic adjustments may alleviate pain and improve range of motion in the neck. 
• Back injury: Chiropractic treatment is often applicable in treating lower back pain. Lower back pain can result from a back injury and poor posture. It can also occur due to herniated disks or muscle strains.
• Whiplash: This is a prevalent injury. It results from sports activities, car accidents, or other incidents where the head unexpectedly jerks forth and back. A chiropractic adjustment can realign the spine and neck, lowering the stiffness and pain related to the whiplash injury.
• On-the-job injuries: Chiropractic treatment can help somebody who has sustained a work-related injury. These injuries include back injuries resulting from heavy lifting or repetitive strain injuries.
• Sports injuries: Sports people who sustain injuries can benefit from chiropractic adjustment. Chiropractic care helps them minimize pain and enhance their range of motion.

Note that chiropractic treatment might not be ideal for all conditions and injuries. You want to consult a physician to establish the best treatment option.

Benefits of Seeing a Chiropractor Treatment Following a Personal Injury Accident

After a personal injury accident, many individuals think they might need drugs or surgery to improve their pain. However, chiropractic treatment is a less invasive and inexpensive alternative to conventional medical care following a slip and fall, workplace, or road accident injury. Many personal injuries do not result in soreness, pain, discomfort, or stiffness until weeks or days after the crash. Seeking medical care from a skilled chiropractor as soon as possible can detect and stop injuries from worsening.

Restoring Range of Motion

Range of motion is crucial to being capable of moving around. Joints must move freely to complete day-to-day activities like standing up, sitting down, and brushing teeth. This is particularly so if you experience a restricted range of motion in your spine. Spine-related problems can result in conditions like carpal tunnel, back pain, and headaches. Spine alignment is essential for easy and free movement. Spinal bones can be misaligned in several ways. Consequently, seeing a chiropractor may be necessary after a crash, even if you feel fine.

Relief or Pain Reduction Without Medication

When your body part is hurt, your nerve endings will convey pain signals to the brain to notify you of the injury. Pain relievers inhibit these messages at either end of the injury, the brain, or the spinal cord. These medications are often opiate or aspirin derivatives (opiate derivatives are highly addictive). Painkillers only mask injury symptoms. Also, these drugs can result in an addiction.

On the contrary, chiropractic care deals with the source of pain. It promotes the recovery of the real injury and does not hide the pain to give a false sense of healing. In addition, chiropractic adjustments lower general body pain. Spinal manipulation releases a pain-alleviating hormone that naturally reduces body pain.

Reduce Inflammation

A crash can result in microtears in the muscles and ligaments. Unfortunately, x-ray imaging does not catch these kinds of injuries. These microtears are the reason injured individuals wake up with stiffness or soreness the next day following a slip and fall or car crash, even though there are no noticeable injuries. An experienced chiropractor can utilize particular techniques to manipulate the spine and other body parts to minimize pain and inflammation symptoms.

Noninvasive Treatment

Some chiropractors believe seeking chiropractic care should be a hurt individual’s first stop. That is because simple adjustments can prevent the worsening of an injury. Obtaining treatment as soon as possible following an accident can minimize the risks of undergoing surgery to rectify an issue. Surgery is expensive. And even though you cannot avoid it in some situations, for most, you can avoid it through noninvasive chiropractic adjustments.

Hidden Injuries

Bruising, cuts, and broken bones are more apparent after a crash. However, some injuries following a collision are not always apparent. You might, for example, feel no or little pain if you slip and fall on a slippery surface at work. You might dismiss minor back pains and believe they will go away with ice and a little rest. However, you might have suffered a back injury that results in constant headaches. A chiropractor can assess you and establish and correct possible injuries that could lead to persistent problems.

Consider another example: After an accident, it may take a few days to experience whiplash. However, seeking immediate chiropractic care can address whiplash-related pain before it even starts.

Faster Recovery

Seeing a chiropractor specializing in personal injury cases after a crash can help improve muscle soreness, lower back pain, neck pain, headaches, and other conditions. Chiropractics offer personalized evaluations and can identify the best ways to alleviate patients’ symptoms. If untreated, workplace, slip-and-fall, or road accident injuries can heal with scar tissue. This scar tissue could result in ongoing discomfort and pain. 

Holistic Approach

Often, chiropractors take a holistic approach to health care. They address the physical symptoms of an injury and the mental and emotional aspects of recovery.

Signs You Require Chiropractor Care After Personal Injury

Chronic illnesses, injuries, and other health conditions manifest in different ways. For example, sustaining whiplash because of an accident can result in several symptoms. These include immediate discomfort, stiffness, and possible damage. Although chiropractic treatment can help alleviate specific symptoms, it is not a solution for all injuries. If you feel symptoms and wonder whether chiropractic care could help, you want to consult your PCP for counsel on any of these:

Difficulty Sleeping

Mental anguish and emotional distress are not the only reasons why people have challenges sleeping. Certain injuries can also cause nerve issues and inflammation that disrupt sleep patterns. The discomfort and pain from conditions involving joints and the back can stop you from sleeping comfortably. Back pain may even wake you up at night, inhibiting your healing process and destroying your psychological health.

Chiropractic treatment may assist by relaxing your muscles and relieving pain. This will make it easy for you to fall asleep and remain asleep. Attending the sessions without fail can show you are committed to recovery. This can positively impact your personal injury claim or lawsuit.

Constant Headaches

Chiropractors can help manage migraines and chronic headaches. Some injuries may cause migraine symptoms. For example, hitting your head in a car accident may make you start having persistent headaches. Damage to the bone structure in the neck may cause head pains or cervicogenic headaches that originate from the neck.

If you have been feeling chronic headaches, it could indicate an injury requiring immediate attention. Consult your physician, especially if you recently suffered an accident. Proper care, including chiropractic treatment, can only start after a full diagnosis.

Tingling Sensation

Experiencing occasional tingling in your fingers, arms, feet, and hands is often not worrisome. Still, if you experience it often, it may be a sign of underlying issues like carpal tunnel syndrome, herniated disks, or compressed nerves. It is essential to talk to a physician immediately after a crash. That is because conditions such as spinal cord or whiplash injuries may also trigger tingling. Early diagnosis enables proper management through drugs or chiropractic treatment, lowering the likelihood of lifelong complications.

Restricted Range of Motion

Following an injury, you may have difficulty moving, feel stiffness in your back, neck, and arms, or struggle to do daily tasks. These problems may indicate that your injuries have not fully healed, possibly involving the muscles, joints, and spine. Delaying treatment may make the condition worse, complicating healing. It may also impact your personal injury lawsuit and claim. Insurers may argue they are not responsible for the worsened condition because of negligence in acquiring prompt care.

Discomfort or Chronic Pain

Experiencing soreness or pain after a personal injury is a common scenario. The soreness or pain often improves after you rest for a few days. However, continuous pain, particularly in the joints, back, or neck, could indicate a more severe condition, like pinched nerves. Persistent pain often results from an auto accident or slip-and-fall. Consider talking to a physician about seeking chiropractic care to correct the underlying problems in this case.

When You Should Seek Chiropractic Care

Whether you feel pain or not, it is ideal to seek chiropractic care within three to seven days following a personal injury accident. The earlier, the better. A negligent conduct resulting in a minor accident may not require a visit to the ER. However, it can result in unseen injuries.

Injuries and pain can manifest within hours, days, or months after a collision. Failure to seek medical attention can lead to several chronic conditions that might take several months or years to heal fully. You may spend much money on medical treatment later without an accurate and quick evaluation of your possible injuries.

Regardless of the time the symptoms manifest, you must address them immediately after a crash. Additionally, insurance providers will take advantage of your failure to seek prompt treatment to deny or reduce the compensation amount for your injuries.

As for how long you should see the chiropractor, continue seeing them for as long as it is medically necessary. Work with your PCP and chiropractor to evaluate your recovery and establish when you have maximally benefited from chiropractic treatment.

Who Pays for the Chiropractic Care?

The issue of who pays for chiropractic treatment after a personal injury accident often boils down to who was to blame for the accident. Here are some ways to pay:

The At-Fault Party

If another party was responsible for your personal injury accident, their insurance provider should cover the cost of your chiropractic treatment. You can pursue the damages for chiropractic care in your personal injury case. Then, you can use the compensation to pay for the treatment. Recovering damages is an option in at-fault states such as California. In this case, the liable party is liable for the victim's losses. Your lawyer can help ensure you receive proper compensation for your chiropractic care.

Your Insurance

Some insurance policies pay for chiropractic treatment. However, the extent of coverage differs from one plan to another. Possible options include:

• Your health insurance plan from your insurance
• Your auto insurance plan, if injured because of a vehicle accident
• UM/UIM (Uninsured/underinsured) insurance plan. This applies if you were in a hit-and-run accident or a crash caused by an uninsured motorist.

Many insurance plans only cover chiropractic care to a given limit or a particular number of sessions. Some do not cover them except if your PCP suggests it or your insurer obtains preauthorization. Consult your insurer to determine what service they cover and whether any restrictions exist. That way, you can take advantage of your benefits and pay little from your pocket.

Paying From Out Of Your Pocket

At times, patients do not have the choice but to cover chiropractic care expenses from their pockets. Ask your chiropractor if they have helpful payment options if you cannot afford payment. Examples include package deals and installment plans.

Find an Experienced Personal Injury Near Me

Chiropractic treatment offers several advantages for persons in a personal injury accident. It offers improved mobility, pain relief, and quicker recovery periods. If you are unsure whether or not you should seek chiropractic treatment after a crash, you want to consult a skilled personal injury lawyer. The lawyer can assist you in making the right decision regarding your treatment to boost your personal injury lawsuit or claim.

We strive to maximize our clients’ compensation at LA Personal Injury Law Firm. For this reason, we guide them on the appropriate path to obtain the highest possible settlement amount, including acquiring the necessary medical care. If you need chiropractic care, we will coordinate with your PCP to ensure you undergo the care required. Plus, we will help protect your legal rights and best interests. Contact us at 310-935-0089 for a free consultation and case review.