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Benefits of Combining Manual Therapy and Chiropractic Care for Accident Pain

Suffering from chronic pain after an automobile accident? According to the American College of Physicians, the combination of manual therapy and chiropractic care can effectively aid in pain relief. Together, the two treatments form a powerhouse duo that relieves stress and tension; improves flexibility; boosts immune function; and so much more. Here are five significant benefits that come from combining manual therapy and chiropractic care to treat pain symptoms following an accident.

Manual Therapy and Chiropractic Care Complement Each Other

Manual therapy and chiropractic care work so well together because they target various parts of the body. While manual therapy focuses on the body’s soft tissues—enhancing circulation and blood flow—chiropractic care targets joints and bones. A therapeutic manual creates warmer tissue, preparing the body for chiropractic realignment. For patients experiencing pain following an accident, receiving manual therapy prior to chiropractic care can make realignment more successful.

Enhanced Flexibility

When you get a manual prior to receiving treatment from a chiropractor, your blood flows much easier. The improved blood flow in turn makes muscles more flexible, allowing the body to release pain and tension and improving how well you can move your joints. This benefit is especially significant for patients suffering from decreased mobility after an accident.

Improved Central Nervous System Function

The central nervous system is responsible for sending some pain signals from the body to the brain. This is especially true for patients recovering from an accident, many of which experience chronic neck or back pain. As you follow a treatment plan that includes manual therapy and chiropractic care, you’ll notice an improvement in the overall function of your central nervous system, which can reduce your pain symptoms.

Boosts Immune System Function

Constant tension and stress can wear down the body’s immune system quickly. Manual therapy is a natural stress reliever that not only enhances feelings of relaxation but also improves circulation. Combined with pain-relieving chiropractic treatments, manual therapy can give your immune system a big boost. When you suffer from less stress, pain, and tension in your muscles, your immune system can fully thrive.

Provides Psychological Benefits

Combining manual therapy and chiropractic treatments does a lot more than simply relieve stress and tension in aching muscles—it also provides psychological benefits. A good manual releases dopamine, the body’s natural “feel good” chemical, in the brain that aids in focus and memory. The combined treatments aid in promoting an overall feeling of wellness, which can speed up the recovery process following an accident.

Manual Therapy and Chiropractic Care Are a Powerful Duo

If you’re suffering from chronic pain following an automobile accident, combining manual therapy and chiropractic care can help you achieve long-lasting relief. The team at Impact Medical Group of Sarasota offers professional manual therapy and chiropractic treatments that create body wellness and improve your overall quality of life. Call us today at (941) 222-1157 to schedule your free consultation!

Can A Chiropractor or PT Treat Old Accident Injuries?

Does this time of year have you feeling nostalgic about the good ol’ days? Who doesn’t love rehashing the big high school football game? But sometimes, Memory Lane can also include accidents from years past. If you are still suffering from old accident injuries, Impact Medical Group of St. Petersburg can help.

It’s never too late to feel your best. If you are still experiencing pain from a decades-old injury, it may be a sign that your body never fully recovered. Instead of waiting out the pain, try these steps recommended by our team of professionals.

Scheduling a consultation is a great first step. In this first meeting, a chiropractor and/or a physical therapist will conduct a full physical evaluation while gathering information on your health history, pain triggers, and any other symptoms you have experienced. After compiling all pertinent information, the team will then create a customized treatment plan that can help achieve your health goals.

During these sessions, you will learn more about how the body can carry residual trauma from previous accidents. Some of these injuries include chronic neck, shoulder, and back pain that may cause jolts of pain unexpectedly. Though you may have received treatment for the pain at that time, the body may have not fully recuperated. Working with a professional who can properly diagnose is key when solving pain issues. Performing specific exercises, stretching techniques to explore the range of motion and x-rays are all diagnostic tools used to locate the true nature of the injury. For example, auto accidents may cause muscle, joint, and bone pain. However, this pain is not always easily treated with medication so chiropractic work is a great supplemental treatment. Using spinal manipulation, adjustments, and physical therapy exercises can be a foundational part of recovery.

Don’t let old injuries ruin a new year. Let Impact Medical Group of St. Petersburg create a personalized program that can finally alleviate your long-term pain. All plans are fluid and make room for changes and adjustments as necessary. Visit the Impact Medical Group of St. Petersburg website for more or call us at (727) 722-8103 to speak with our team.

Most Common Neck & Shoulder Injuries We See in Accident Patients

Due to the forces sustained in a car accident, you can experience a variety of neck and shoulder injuries that manifest immediately or in the hours and days following the collision. Although you may have experienced a stiff neck or shoulder before, the impact of a car accident can cause much worse damage, making it crucial to seek care immediately.

Learn about the most common neck and shoulder injuries that we see, as well as how we treat them at our Impact Medical Sun City Center Clinic. Let’s dive in.

What Causes Neck and Shoulder Pain After an Accident?

During a car accident, your neck can suddenly jerk forward and backward and when your body is restrained by a seat belt, your neck takes the brunt of the force.

Moreover, a collision may cause your neck to forcefully move from side to side. Or you might even get hit by debris from inside or outside the vehicle.

Also, if you realize an accident is about to occur, you may tense up your muscles, increasing the risk of muscle strain. This forceful action can damage ligaments, muscles, discs, joints, nerves, tendons, or bones.

Common Neck Injuries

Some of the most common types of neck injuries from car accidents include:

Whiplash: This occurs when your head violently jolts forward and suddenly stops. Whiplash causes damage to your neck’s soft tissues, including the muscles, nerves, and ligaments. Victims may experience neck pain and stiffness, numbness, or tingling in the neck and arms.

Disc Injury: This injury causes the nerves in your neck to become irritated, resulting in bursts of pain in your legs and neck. The injury results from your spinal structure moving out of place.

Spinal Cord Injury: A neck injury can damage the spinal cord if your vertebrae are disrupted during an accident. Because the spinal cord consists of sensitive nerves, spinal cord injuries may cause the victim to suffer partial or complete paralysis or even death.

Vertebral Fracture: The impact of a car accident can cause vertebrae to break. These kinds of fractures are serious and require immediate medical attention.

Sprains & Strains: Muscle or ligament sprains in the neck occur due to sudden movements. They can cause pain in the neck, which can be worsened by activity.

Common Shoulder Injuries

Shoulder injuries can occur when your body is propelled into a hard object around you, such as the dashboard or the side of the vehicle.

Some common examples of shoulder injuries include:

Rotator cuff tear: The rotator cuff is the group of muscles and tendons that surround your shoulder joint. This area can be torn during a car accident, resulting in a dull ache deep in the shoulder and weakness in the affected arm. Accident victims may experience limited movement, tenderness, and severe pain.

Rotator cuff tendinitis: If the rotator cuff is injured suddenly, it can cause tendinitis in the affected area.

Dislocated shoulder: This injury occurs when the ball and socket in the arm are dislocated from each other. This injury may result in muscle weakness, numbness, tingling, or spasms near the injury.

SLAP tear: A superior labrum anterior and posterior tear occurs when the tendon in the bicep that attaches to the cartilage at the end of the arm tears. These injuries are associated with instability, decreased range of motion, popping sounds in the affected area, and pain when lifting. 

Symptoms of Delayed Injuries

You may not realize that you have suffered a shoulder or neck injury immediately after a car accident. If you experience any of the following symptoms, we urge you to seek medical attention right away:

• Headaches
• Dizziness
• Pain in the neck or shoulders
• Back pain

Treatment for Neck and Shoulder Pain

Our accident pain specialists may recommend several treatment options to help relieve back or neck pain. These include:

• Ice and heat therapy
• Short-term use of a brace
• Gentle stretching, manual, or chiropractic techniques
• Physical therapy
• Epidural steroid injections
• Facet injections
• And more

Neck and Shoulder Pain Relief

Don’t suffer from neck or shoulder pain after a car accident, instead, call our team at Impact Medical Sun City Center. We will comprehensively treat your pain so you can get back to living pain-free!

Schedule a consultation with our pain specialists today at (813) 938-5195!

How Long Should I Expect Soreness After a Car Accident?

It is normal to experience some soreness and pain after a car accident, but you might be wondering, when does the pain become an indicator that something more can be wrong?

Learn about how long you may remain sore or injured after a car accident and discover the treatment options that we may use at Impact Medical Zephyrhills to help you find pain relief.

Car Accident Injuries and Soreness

It is normal to be sore for a few hours to a few days after a car accident. If you are sore much longer than this, this usually indicates lingering pain that is not consistent with typical injuries.

For more serious injuries, you may be sore for weeks to months afterward. However, it is not normal to experience the typical soreness that goes with a car accident for more than 6 weeks after being involved in a fender bender or minor accident.

If you feel residual pain after a car accident, it can be an indication that you sustained a more serious injury.

Remember this: even if you don’t have lasting injuries, you can feel pain and soreness for up to six weeks after being in a car accident due to bruising and stiffness.

Some injuries will take longer to heal than others and may have lasting complications. This is why getting proper treatment and going through a rehabilitation program for injuries is so important.

Is it Serious?

Your injury could be serious if you experience:

• Recurring dizziness
• Blurred vision
• Pain in the neck that makes turning or moving the neck painful
• Back pain and trouble twisting, turning, and crouching
• Tingling/numbness in any area of the body

If you notice any of these symptoms seek medical attention right away.

Common Car Accident Injuries

Here are some of the most common injuries that we often see in patients that have been involved in car accidents.

• Head injuries: Head injuries can be as small as cuts or bruising, a concussion, or as serious as a traumatic brain injury. Head injuries should always be assessed since they can be fatal.

• Back Injuries: Back injuries are common in car accidents due to the rapid jerking motion of a vehicle coming to an abrupt stop or crashing into another car. From pain and soreness to difficulty twisting, back injuries are a common result of car accidents.

• Internal injuries: Though your seatbelt will help protect you, if worn incorrectly, it can cause internal damage. The jerking motion can result in bruising or even broken ribs.

• Neck Injuries & Whiplash: Neck injuries such as whiplash are extremely common in car accidents. The abrupt jerking motion can cause injuries to the top spinal vertebrae in the neck and cause pain and soreness when twisting the neck. Chiropractic adjustments can relieve whiplash pain.

• Spinal cord injuries: Spinal discs and vertebrae can be pushed out of alignment or twisted awkwardly.

Don’t Wait to Seek Medical Attention

Rather than asking, “how long should I feel sore after a car accident,” you should be asking, “how soon should I schedule a doctor’s appointment?”

Regardless of the severity of the accident, you should always follow up with a visit to a car accident doctor to determine the extent of your symptoms and injuries.

Remember, car accident injuries don’t always manifest symptoms such as pain and soreness until a few weeks after the accident. A swift diagnosis from an accident doctor followed up with prompt medical treatment, can significantly lessen the discomfort you feel afterward.

It is also important to schedule your appointment as soon as possible, as you only have 14 days following your accident to use your Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage.

Car Accident Treatment

If you’ve been in a car accident, make sure to call our accident clinic at Impact Medical Zephyrhills. Our team of pain specialists and accident doctors will help you heal with chiropractic treatments, physical therapy, manual, pain management, and more!

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