Call NowShould I See a Chiropractor for a Soft-Tissue Accident Injury?
Soft tissue injuries are the most common injuries that occur during car accidents. These injuries though less severe than a broken bone can be debilitating and can cause chronic pain if not addressed.
If you have been in a car accident and are feeling pain or limited mobility, you are likely suffering from a soft tissue injury.
Keep scrolling to learn more about soft tissue injuries and how our chiropractors at Impact Medical Sun City Center can help you begin to heal.
What is a Soft Tissue Injury?
A soft tissue injury occurs when damage occurs to the body’s connective tissues such as muscles, ligaments, and tendons.
The sudden force of a car accident causes damage to these connective tissues by pulling, tearing, or compressing them.
Depending on the severity of the strain or damage, soft tissue injuries can take weeks or even months to heal. Therefore, it is so important to seek medical treatment if you are suffering from one of these injuries after an accident.
Types of Soft Tissue Injuries
There are many types of soft tissue injuries. Here are some of the most common that occur during car accidents:
Whiplash
Whiplash is a common injury and can be one of the most problematic. A sudden jolt to the neck (usually a rear-end collision) at even speeds as low as 5 mph can cause whiplash. This causes an injury to the tissues that surround your neck, shoulders, and the base of the skull.
Symptoms of whiplash include:
- Stiff neck
- Neck pain
- Headaches
- Back problems
- Loss of memory or inability to concentrate
These symptoms can present themselves immediately after the accident or can take hours or days to manifest. If whiplash is left untreated, it can cause chronic problems, so if you are experiencing these symptoms, seek medical care as soon as possible.
Sprains
A sprain is caused by ligaments tearing or stretching due to trauma. The most common joint sprain is the ankle.
Symptoms of a sprain include:
- Pain
- Bruising
- Swelling
- A “pop” when the injury occurs
- Limited mobility of the joint
Strains or Muscle Tears
Also known as a pulled muscle, a strain occurs when a muscle is stretched too far and tears.
Symptoms of strains include:
- Pain or tenderness
- Swelling
- Bruising
- Redness
- Limited motion
- Muscle weakness
Contusions or Bruising
A contusion is the medical term for a bruise and is a type of hematoma or a collection of blood outside of a blood vessel. Contusions are caused by the leaking of blood into the surrounding area by injured blood vessels or capillaries.
Symptoms of contusions will vary depending on whether they are located on your skin, muscles, or bones and may include:
- Swelling
- Stiffness
- Tenderness
- Pain
- Difficulty using the affected area
- A small bump
- Discolored skin that is green, red, black, blue, or purple
How a Chiropractor Can Help You Heal
There are several ways that a chiropractor can help you heal from a soft tissue injury. These always start with an examination and necessary tests to properly diagnose your condition and the extent of the soft tissue injury.
We then will create a personalized treatment plan with your specific injuries in mind. Our first step is to reduce your pain and soreness, and then we will focus on repairing the injured tissue to restore full mobility and function to the area.
Modalities we might use include:
- Physical therapy: We will choose specific exercises to help restore strength and range of motion.
- Manual: Therapeutic manual can help loosen stiff and tense muscles and joints. Manual can increase the effectiveness of other therapies, such as chiropractic adjustments.
- Chiropractic adjustments: Treatments for whiplash and other soft tissue injuries involve gently adjusting the spine to realign the vertebrae and body tissues. This effectively takes pressure away from the injury, increasing mobility.
- Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS): This modality is used to decrease inflammation, relieve pain, and reduce muscle spasms.
When you receive chiropractic care and related treatments and follow through with the prescribed exercises at home, your recovery time will be shortened significantly.
Our chiropractors at Impact Medical Sun City Center know more about spinal alignment than a traditional doctor, which makes chiropractic care the preferred choice for healing your soft tissue injuries.
Don’t Suffer in Silence
Many people try to brush off the seriousness of a soft tissue injury after an accident without realizing that it could have a long-term impact on their health, mobility, and quality of life. Further, unresolved soft tissue injuries can lead to chronic conditions that could last a lifetime.
If you are suffering from a soft tissue injury, get started healing today with a visit to Impact Medical Sun City Center. Our chiropractic team is ready to help!
Start healing. Schedule an appointment today; 813-938-5195!