The aftermath of a traffic collision can be incredibly physically and emotionally challenging. From whiplash to back pain, the impact on your body can be substantial. While seeking medical attention is important, adding chiropractic care to your recovery plan can help you heal more quickly.

At Ogden Chiropractic, we understand how difficult this time of your life can be, and we want to do all we can to help you recover. If you’ve recently been in a traffic collision and you’re considering contacting a chiropractor, keep reading to see how beneficial they can be throughout your recovery process. 

How Soon After a Traffic Collision Should You See a Chiropractor? 

It isn’t uncommon for individuals to not experience any pain or discomfort immediately after a traffic collision. While you might not immediately notice any discomfort, this does not mean you shouldn’t seek the help of a chiropractor. If you have been in a traffic collision, it is best to seek the help of a chiropractor within 72 hours of the accident. 

By seeing a chiropractor immediately after the accident, they can identify any problem areas you may not have noticed and begin crafting a treatment plan that you can begin as soon as possible. Whether it is a minor rear-ending or a more severe collision, seeking the advice of a chiropractor can ensure that any potentially hidden problems are identified and addressed immediately. 

1. Comprehensive Assessment

After a traffic collision, it is important to undergo a thorough examination as soon as possible to identify any potential injuries. Chiropractors are skilled at assessing musculoskeletal issues, including those resulting from an accident. Whether the injury is minor or more significant, a chiropractor can help you identify it quickly, ensuring you can begin treatment as soon as possible. Following this assessment, they can provide you with a treatment plan to help you feel much better. 

2. Target Whiplash

Whiplash is one of the most common injuries that result from a traffic collision, and chiropractors are specialized in addressing its effects. By scheduling appointments to see your chiropractor, you can get precise spinal adjustments, alleviating pain and improving mobility. Don’t let this discomfort stop you from getting back to regular activity. See your chiropractor and eliminate it as soon as possible. 

3. Spinal Adjustments for Alignment

Back pain after a traffic collision isn’t uncommon. The impact of a collision may even cause misalignments in your spine, leading to increased pain and restricted mobility. By working with a chiropractor, you can get manual adjustments to correct these misalignments. With their help, you will be able to move more comfortably and return to regular activity more quickly than if you try to let it heal on its own. 

4. Drug-Free Pain Management

While you may be comfortable with taking pain medications immediately following a traffic collision, you may want to ween yourself off of them soon after. By employing the help of a chiropractor, you can focus on drug-free pain management. They can address the root cause of the pain, providing adjustments and therapies that provide relief and can help you eliminate pain medications from your everyday life. 

5. Rehabilitation Exercises

Chiropractic care spans far beyond your appointments. When you see a chiropractor after a traffic collision, they can provide you with targeted exercises to strengthen and rehabilitate injured areas. These exercises can be performed with their guidance, as well as at home. By following these exercises, you can restore functionality, increase your stability, and prevent long-term problems. 

6. Prevent Chronic Issues

It isn’t uncommon for individuals to develop chronic pain following a traffic collision, especially if it is a more severe accident. By seeing a chiropractor as soon as possible following your accident, you can prevent the development of this chronic pain. It can also help you maintain strength in the injured area. 

7. Documentation for Insurance Claims

Chiropractors provide detailed documentation of your injuries and treatment plans following a traffic collision. This documentation can be incredibly valuable for insurance claims, offering a clear record of your recovery process. Whether you’re going through legal proceedings or going back and forth with your insurance, this documentation gives them a better idea of how the accident impacted you. 

Is It Too Late for Chiropractic Care? 

While it is certainly best to seek the care of a chiropractor as soon as possible after a car accident, it is never too late to seek their help for injuries. Some injuries from traffic collisions may take some time to manifest and may not become apparent for days or weeks after the incident. If it’s been a while since your accident, but you are experiencing discomfort, scheduling an appointment with a chiropractor can help you determine the cause of your pain and the best treatment plan possible.

Recover with the Help of Ogden Chiropractic

We understand how stressful the immediate aftermath of a traffic collision can be. From calls with your insurance to finding a new mode of transportation, there is a lot on your plate. But this doesn’t mean that your body should be neglected. By working with our team of expert chiropractors at Ogden Chiropractic, you can trust that any minor aches and pains are addressed, and major discomfort is handled with the utmost care.

From back pain and arthritis to scoliosis and whiplash, our team provides a wide variety of services to individuals across the Wasatch Front. If you’ve recently been in a traffic collision and you are seeking the advice and care of a chiropractor, don’t hesitate to contact our team today to schedule an appointment. 

Whiplash is a common injury after car accidents, though it can also be caused by other types of traumas, such as assault, sports injuries, falls, and more. If you suspect you may have whiplash, it’s important to seek out treatment as soon as possible, in order to ensure you can make a full recovery. Chiropractors help with whiplash in a number of different ways. 

If you’ve been in an accident or suffered a trauma that you suspect may have caused whiplash, you can seek out your local chiropractor for treatment. Here’s what you need to know about how chiropractors help with whiplash.

What Is Whiplash?

Whiplash is an injury to your neck that happens as the result of a rapid, forceful back-and-forth movement of your like, similar to the cracking of a whip, hence the name: whiplash. As previously mentioned, whiplash is commonly caused by car accidents, though anything that forces your neck to make that rapid back-and-forth movement can result in this injury.  

Whiplash is an injury because your neck isn’t made to move that fast, that forcefully. The movement can cause trauma to your spine and its structures, including your nerves, ligaments, and muscles. It can throw your spine out of alignment, which thus impacts your body’s overall functioning. Whiplash can result in quite a bit of pain. 

Typically, whiplash goes away on its own as your body heals itself in the weeks following your injury, but sometimes, it can cause long-lasting complications, such as chronic neck pain. It’s important to seek out treatment, such as how chiropractors help with whiplash, in order to aid your recovery and avoid any complications. 

Symptoms Of Whiplash

Symptoms of whiplash typically appear within a few days of the injury, although sometimes, it can take longer for them to develop. Signs and symptoms of whiplash include:

• Neck pain and stiffness
• Loss of range of motion in your neck
• Worsened pain when you move your neck
• Headaches
• Neck instability
• Upper back, shoulder, and/or arm pain and tenderness
• Tingling or numbness in your arms
• Dizziness
• Fatigue
• Ringing in your ears
• Blurry vision
• Irritability
• Trouble concentrating
• Difficulty sleeping
• Memory problems
• Depression

Chiropractors help with whiplash symptoms like these in a variety of ways. The sooner you seek out chiropractors’ help with whiplash, the sooner you’ll be able to recover and get back to your life.

If your initial symptoms were intense or you are at risk, such as having had whiplash before or having existing back or neck pain, then it is more likely that you will suffer lasting pain. Chiropractic treatment can alleviate this pain and realign your spine so you can live a more comfortable life.  

How Whiplash Is Diagnosed

If you suspect you have whiplash, your chiropractor will conduct an evaluation and run some tests in order to understand what happened, what your symptoms are, and the extent of the injury. Typically, this includes asking you questions about the event that resulted in your symptoms, your medical history, and then a physical examination in order to observe your range of motion and check for misalignment and tenderness and tightness. 

Whiplash doesn’t appear on imaging tests, but your doctor or chiropractor may want to order some in order to rule out other conditions. For example, chiropractors help with whiplash by ensuring that there isn’t anything that could be making it worse. They do this with tests such as X-rays that can show whether or not you’ve suffered any fractures or dislocations. 

How Chiropractors Help With Whiplash

Once whiplash has been diagnosed, chiropractors help with whiplash with a variety of different treatment methods. Every case of whiplash is different, and so treatment methods vary. Your chiropractor will personalize your treatment to you and your specific injury in order to ensure maximum effectiveness. Generally, the goal of whiplash treatment is to control and reduce pain, restore your neck’s range of motion, and help you get back to your normal life.

Some of the ways that chiropractors help with whiplash include:

• Spinal Manipulation. Whiplash can throw your spine out of alignment. Spinal manipulations use pressure in order to ease your spine back into alignment, which can alleviate your pain and help your body heal.
• Spinal Decompression. This treatment method involves gently stretching your spine, so as to alleviate the pressure that is on your spinal discs.
• Advising you on exercises you can do at home.
• Therapeutic massage.
• Ergonomic changes
• Muscle stimulation and relaxation.
• And more. 

Ogden Chiropractic can help you recover from a whiplash injury. Contact us today to learn more about how we help with whiplash or to schedule an appointment.