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5 Things You Should Never Do When Having Back Pain After An Accident

Getting into a car accident that causes a back injury can be frightening. How will this affect your day-to-day life? Is the pain going to become chronic? Do you have other injuries? Before you panic, take a deep breath, our team at Impact Medical Zephyrhills is here to help.

Here, we discuss five things you should never do if you have back pain after an accident.

Recovering from Back Pain: What to Know

To ensure that you receive the best medical care possible and get relief from back pain as soon as possible following an accident, here are a few things you should never do:

#1. Don’t Wait to Get Medical Treatment

After an accident, time is of the essence when it comes to treatment for back injuries. While there could be several causes of the back pain you are experiencing including a soft tissue injury, nerve damage, or a bulging disc, we need to examine you to be sure.

The sooner you seek treatment for back pain, the sooner we can design a treatment plan that will bring you relief.

#2. Don’t Forgo Diagnostic Imaging

Getting x-rays done can help rule out different kinds of injuries so your pain can be treated appropriately. Further, documentation will help your case if you need to litigate or use your PIP benefits.

Delays in seeking treatment will make it harder to get insurance companies to pay for your treatment, plus, you have 14 days after an accident to use your PIP benefits in Florida.

#3. Don’t “Tough It Out”

No matter how minor you think your injuries are, the pain you are feeling could be caused by a more serious injury or be the start of chronic pain.

If we’ve said it once, we’ve said it hundreds of times—seek treatment as soon as possible after an accident. It could be the difference between recovering from your back pain or suffering from chronic debilitating pain.

To ensure that your body heals properly, you have to rest. You may need to take time off, but don’t stop moving even if it’s just a little bit, as your back pain could get worse as your muscles atrophy.

While resting, we recommend that you use ice or heat therapy to help reduce pain, inflammation, and swelling.

  • Start with ice first. This helps reduce swelling. Use an ice pack for 15 minutes at a time.
  • Apply heat next. This can help soothe tense muscles and aid in the recovery process. Apply a hot water bottle or heat pad to the injured area for about 15 minutes at a time to help improve blood flow to the injured area.

#4. Don’t Forget to (Gently) Exercise

We know that when you have back pain it feels like you shouldn’t move at all. But this isn’t the case. You don’t want to remain immobile for too long after your accident. Believe it or not, gentle exercise can help ease back pain after an accident—depending on the extent of your injuries.

We recommend starting with short, simple exercises. We recommend taking a short walk around the block, which can help you maintain your muscle strength. Gentle movement also encourages blood flow, helping ease the pain.

#5. Don’t Rely on Pain Medication Alone

While pain medication may help alleviate some of the back pain caused by your accident, we recommend manual therapy and chiropractic care to help you recover.

Manual Therapy

Manual therapy can help stimulate blood flow which in turn could speed up the healing process. Gentle exercising and stretches will help keep your body flexible and will also improve your muscle strength helping support the injured area.

Furthermore, a trained therapist can also share a few simple exercises that you can do at home to help ease your pain.

Chiropractic Care

A chiropractic visit can help you recover faster than traditional treatments like surgery or pain medications. Essentially, a chiropractor can help heal the source of your back pain, rather than just managing the symptoms after your accident.

We recommend letting your chiropractor know about any symptoms that you are experiencing including:

  • Headaches
  • Numbness
  • Immobility

These will help them determine what treatments and adjustments will encourage your body to heal properly.

Heal and Move Forward From Back Pain

Don’t let back pain hold you back from experiencing all the good things in life. Contact our compassionate team at Impact Medical Zephyrhills for an evaluation and we will design a treatment plan to get you on the road to recovery.

Call us at (813) 706-5156 to schedule your appointment today!