One of the things people don’t always realize is how damaging car accidents can be to your body. Even it seems “minor” and there’s only a little dent in your fender, your body sustained a jostle big or small.
Think about it, if you’ve ever hit a large pothole, you know how much that can damage your car alignment. It’s no different with your physical body.
You can get out at the scene of the accident and feel fine at the time. Yet, in the next day or two, you might start feeling achy. This is not unusual. In fact, you may not even connect it to your car accident if it’s several days later or a week later.
For instance, let’s say you were rear-ended by a car going 5 miles an hour. You have a dent in your fender, but otherwise, everything seems fine. Then, a few days later, you have neck pain. Most people don’t realize even such a minor seeming impact is strong enough to cause whiplash and other painful injuries. That’s why chiropractic treatment after a car accident can really help.
Factors in Possible Car Accident Injuries Include:
1- The type of vehicle – both the type of vehicle you’re in as well as what hit you. If you’re in a small car like a Prius and a jeep hits you, your car may have more damage.
2–Angle it hit you – We’ve all seen those roadside accidents where it’s obvious that the vehicle sustained a blow at one of the corners. The direction the vehicles made impact affects the damage on the vehicle and the person inside.
3-How fast it hit you – A light tap on the rear in stop-and-go traffic is not the same as a head-on collision, yet, if that “light tap” damages your fender, that could be enough to knock your body out of alignment too.
4-The location of your headrest to the location of your head – For example, the headrest can offer protection if it cradles the back of your head, but if you have it down and your head whips front and back, then you could have whiplash.
5 – Did you tense in anticipation or was it a surprise? (Surprise car accidents can cause injury to your ligaments whereas if you tense up, the injury is more likely to be in your muscles.)
These are all factors that go into whether your body sustained an injury after a car accident.
Chiropractic Treatment After a Car Accident is a Good Idea
Just like your car may need realignment your body needs realignment periodically. This is especially true after an accident. Even a “minor” accident can knock your spinal column out of place. Fortunately, a chiropractic adjustment will put everything back where it needs to be. In our Doylestown office, we can also run an x-ray to see if there’s any reason for concern internally speaking. Plus, your insurance may cover all or part of your treatment.
If you have a car accident, please don’t delay seeking chiropractic treatment. You deserve to feel good.