Car accidents are common, and if you’ve ever been in one, you know how jarring it can be. You could injure your neck, back, or even worse.
In a car accident or car crash, it is possible to suffer several injuries. When you talk to insurance companies and other experts, they will tell you that the most common injuries related to car accidents involve the neck and back of the patients.
These are significant areas of the body that connect most body parts. The best car accident chiropractor in San Diego at Integrated Injury Specialists understands the value of receiving a quick and accurate diagnosis after a car accident. One of the most common mistakes patients make is waiting to seek treatment.
Top 5 Most Common Injuries After a Car Accident
When you are injured in an auto accident, we recommend seeking the care of your chiropractor immediately. Chiropractic care is an alternative way of caring for your body naturally to help you heal and reduce pain.
Here are 5 common injuries that occur after a car accident:
1. Concussion
The most common type of TBI, a concussion, occurs when your brain bounces inside your skull after an impact or blow to your head. This can cause bruising, bleeding, and swelling of the brain, leading to temporary loss of consciousness and other symptoms.
Some concussions will heal independently, but others can lead to long-lasting effects such as chronic headaches and difficulty with memory and concentration.
2. Soft Tissue Injuries
Soft tissue injuries affect the muscles, tendons, and ligaments in the neck and back. They often occur after whiplash from a rear-end collision or another impact that causes the head to bounce forward and backward rapidly.
Severe sprains may also cause damage to ligaments and tendons, which are rugged bands of connective tissue that support the joints.
3. Whiplash
Whiplash injuries can be severe and can cause long-term pain and suffering. Your car accident chiropractor in San Diego helps with whiplash injury treatment.
If you have been involved in a car accident, you may have suffered a concussion or whiplash. Most people involved in car accidents would receive whiplash injuries to their necks, even if the crash were not that bad.
Whiplash is an injury to the soft tissue of your neck, which happens when your head moves forward and backward very quickly. It can be excruciating, leaving you with neck pain for months after the initial impact.
If you think you have whiplash, you must seek medical attention as soon as possible. The San Diego Auto Accident Clinic team has many years of experience treating whiplash injuries, and we are here to help you find relief from your pain.
4. Vocal Cord Paralysis
If you’ve ever had trouble speaking after a car accident, this is likely because of vocal cord paralysis. This condition occurs when the voice box’s nerve becomes injured or damaged.
After a car accident, individuals may experience vocal cord paralysis if they were involved in a high-speed accident and received whiplash. The most common symptoms are difficulty speaking, hoarseness, and a weak voice.
Vocal cord paralysis can affect one or both sides of the vocal cords. If it affects both, it can cause breathing problems, but usually temporary. In rare cases, vocal cord paralysis can be permanent.
5. Fracture
Fractures are often overlooked injuries that can cause significant health problems for you later in life. It may be a partial or complete break in the bone that can be caused by blunt force trauma, like in a car accident. The possible fractures that you can sustain in a car accident include:
- Skull fractures
- Rib fractures
- Pelvic fractures
- Hip fractures
To diagnose and treat a fracture, it is essential to visit your local chiropractor immediately after an accident. Chiropractors are trained to identify and treat fractures through spinal adjustments and other manual manipulations.
As part of your treatment, you will likely receive physiotherapy sessions, which will help strengthen the muscles around your fracture. If your fracture is not severe enough to require casting or surgery, you may also be treated with anti-inflammatory medications and painkillers.
How Can San Diego Car Accident Chiropractor Help You After Car Accident?
When someone is involved in a car accident, they may suffer from various injuries. In some cases, they may need to see a personal injury chiropractor in San Diego.
This type of chiropractor can help with many different auto injuries, including whiplash, the most common injury associated with car accidents. Here are 4 ways a San Diego car accident chiropractor can help you after a car accident.
1. Reducing Inflammation
One of the first things that your chiropractor will do is reduce inflammation in your body. The chiropractor can increase blood flow and lymphatic drainage with massage therapy and other techniques. This helps reduce inflammation, which will decrease the discomfort you feel after an accident.
2. Improving Range of Motion
A qualified San Diego chiropractor for personal injury cases will also work to improve your range of motion after an accident. Many people suffer from stiffness in their shoulders, neck and back, and extremities after an accident due to inflammation and spasms in the muscles.
A good chiropractor will use massage therapy, spinal manipulation, and stretching exercises to improve range of motion so you can move more freely without pain.
3. Treatment of Other Non-Pain Related Injuries
A car accident chiropractor in San Diego can also treat any other injuries you may have suffered during the accident that do not cause any pain or discomfort.
These injuries may include bruises or cuts on your body. A good chiropractor will be able to attend to these injuries so that they do not develop into something more serious later on.
4. Inspect Spinal Cord Injuries
A San Diego car accident chiropractor will be able to tell whether or not your car accident has caused any spinal problems.
This is especially important if you have been involved in a rear-end collision or a side-impact collision. When the spine suffers trauma, it will cause discomfort, but also it can cause long-term pain and chronic health issues if left untreated.
The best way to treat your injuries, and avoid future ones, is by visiting someone with experience and getting the treatment you need.
Dr. Zach Beatty, DC
San Diego Auto Injury Center
619-380-3235
7822 Convoy Court
San Diego, CA 92111
241 W. 35th St. Ste B
National City, CA 91950