You don’t need to total your car to sustain dangerous injuries. Even fender benders can have serious physical consequences. It is not uncommon for someone who comes through an accident with just a few external bruises to assume they escaped injury. But the damage may not be immediately apparent. So even if the accident seemed minor, it is important to make an appointment to receive personal injury chiropractor care to make sure there has been no harm to the musculoskeletal system.
The problem with this kind of trauma is that symptoms, primarily pain, may not become apparent for weeks. But even though the pain may be delayed, the underlying damage injuries causing this pain have already occurred, which without treatment can result in a life of chronic pain. So no matter how slight the impact of the collision, any time the impact is sufficient to cause body damage to your car, you should immediately get checked out by a chiropractor.
Whiplash is one of the most common personal injury sustained in car accidents. Physiologically, whiplash is damage to the neck muscles and ligaments caused by the head snapping forward. While most cases of whiplash are related to car accidents, the condition can also happen in a fall. If not treated immediately, secondary complications can occur.
For a long time, it was next to impossible to definitively diagnose soft tissue damage because it didn’t show up on x-rays. It came down to anecdotal evidence and the patient’s word for it. Not surprisingly, insurance companies were extremely resistant to accept the patient’s word because such injuries can mean extended, long term treatment and they didn’t want to have to pay those high medical costs. But today’s imaging machines can help make definitive diagnoses. If there is soft tissue damage, a personalized treatment plan will be devised based on your specific injuries.
The first symptom of whiplash is normally a lingering neck ache. Other symptoms can include headache, shoulder pain, dizziness, jaw pain, and fatigue. Putting off treatment can lead to other ailments such as chronic headaches and an inability to focus on work. Chiropractic sessions such as massages help undo damage caused by scar tissue and other treatments can restore proper alignment.
There is another pragmatic reason for getting checked out after minor accident. Should there turn out to be soft tissue damage, you will find it much easier to get properly compensated if diagnosis and treatment happens immediately after the crash occurs. It makes it harder for the insurance company to claim the injuries were caused elsewhere.
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