CHIROPRACTIC CARE FOR CAR ACCIDENT INJURIES

Seattle Car Accident Injury Treatment

One of the most stressful aspects of life is dealing with the problems that arise after an car accident. Dr. Devine, a car crash injury specialist has been successfully treating whiplash and soft tissue injuries sustained in Seattle car crash accidents for over 15 years. He uses specific chiropractic adjustments, physical therapies, and strengthening exercises to help restore proper motion and re-position individual spinal bones to promote proper healing.

Some car accident injuries are hidden and are seldom detected for months or even years. As a result, injuries are not taken care of properly, and accident victims settle their case with the insurance companies before getting evaluated from a Doctor trained in soft tissue injuries.

Once you settle your case, you lose the right to have your insurance company pay for treatment if you need it. If you are injured in an car accident, you should get the care you need to get back to the way you felt and functioned just before the accident.

Even if you are just sore, you should get checked out immediately because you may experience pain, numbness, headaches, muscle stiffness, fatigue, and other problems including arthritis many months down the road. Remember, nothing is more important than your health, especially when you start to lose it.

What is Whiplash?

The important thing to know is that the head and neck of the injured person is accelerated 3 to 5 times faster than the acceleration of the car. This sudden change in speed (about 1/10 of second) produces damage to muscles, nerves, and ligaments and causes neck pain and other problems. It is estimated that there is about 3 million whiplash injuries per year in the USA, according to Dr. Arthur Croft of the Spine Research Institute of San Diego. Several studies show that a large percentage of whiplash victims will still have pain years after their crashes. Chiropractic treatment along with supportive therapies can make a big difference and help Seattle car accident victims avoid years of suffering.

Whiplash Symptoms

Whiplash symptoms include much more than just neck pain. There may be headaches, jaw pain, shoulder pain, arm pain, hand pain, numbness and tingling, as well as memory loss, irritability, insomnia, depression, tinnitus (ringing in the ears), and concentration problems.

Whiplash Treatment

Even if you are not in pain following a whiplash incident, it is important to receive prompt attention to your injury, as the structural balance of your neck and spine is important to your health. We can assist in your recovery by correctly adjusting your neck and/or spine so it has the chance to heal properly. In addition, we can recommend physical therapy, stretching and strengthening exercises, and natural anti-inflammatory supplements to put you back on the road to good health. Pain pills won’t heal inflamed tendons, muscle relaxers won’t heal torn muscles, and cervical collars won’t restore graceful spinal curves. Chiropractic care, coupled with a specific exercise program is the best treatment for patients injured in a motor vehicle accident.

Whiplash Prevention

There are certain things you can do to prevent being injured in a car accident. Practice good defensive driving skills. Know where other cars are that surround you. Adjust your headrest properly. It’s estimated that only 1/3 of headrests are properly adjusted. The middle of the headrest should be at the middle back of your skull. This will stop your head from rotating forward or backward during impact. Finally, if you know you’re going to get hit it does help to brace for the impact. Chiropractic treatment restores the spine from a state of limited range of motion to normal and full range of motion. When the spine cannot move with the normal range of motion, proper nutrients which are located around the joint cannot enter the injured joint and help the body fully recover from the injuries. Chiropractic adjustments restore and help maintain the proper range of motion so the body's healing nutrients can enter into the joint and assist with healing. Left untreated, injured joints can develop disc degeneration and arthritis.