Auto Accident Injuries

Despite the most careful of driving and all of the numerous safety features available on cars today, accidents do happen! You of course insure your auto to protect yourself from financial loss if your car is damaged or you damage someone else’s, but do you know what to do for yourself to prevent permanent health problems if you are in an auto accident?

First: Are you having any problem you did not have before the accident? Pain, numbness, tingling, sleep difficulty, spasm, stiffness, dizziness, feeling of vagueness or inability to concentrate, loss of consciousness, bruises, fractures? These are all common symptoms after an accident that show that there has indeed been injury to you, and that you should have it checked out right away.

Second: Do not wait to see if it gets better! This is common bad advice given to injured people by doctors who do not handle auto accident injuries. Many times these are symptoms of problems that will get worse over time, despite being a minor inconvenience initially. These problems, if not treated can lead to significantly accelerated degenerative changes, lifelong pain and disability. They also lead to frequent flare ups of the symptoms that could be avoided with proper initial treatment.

Third: Seek Chiropractic Care. The most frequent injuries that occur in auto accidents, sprains, strains, whiplash, disc injuries are all VERY responsive to chiropractic care. Starting with Pain Management or Surgery is not indicated and can lead to a lifetime of pain medications and permanent problems.
Conservative active care like chiropractic is well supported by medical studies to be the most effective and appropriate treatment for auto injuries. Passive care like massage and drugs are NOT indicated for more than a very short period of time.

Factors That Influence The Outcome Of Your Accident.

Some of the more common factors that influence both the type of injuries you have and the severity are:

• Were you wearing a seat belt and shoulder harness?
• Did the airbags deploy?
• Did you see the accident coming, were you able to brace or prepare for impact?
• What was the speed of both vehicles?
• Where were the vehicles impacted?
• Even very low speed accidents can cause injury to the occupant!

While there is no formula for predicting what injuries you will suffer in an accident, there are injuries that commonly occur with various types of accidents.

LOW SPEED: results in unexpected rapid movement of the body at the moment of impact. These injuries include muscle strains and bruises from restraints, but more serious injuries can occur.

HIGHER SPEED ACCIDENTS: Accidents at greater than 10 mph involve more rapid body movements and usually impact with vehicle contents(steering wheel, door frame, dashboard, etc). These frequently include injuries such as shoulder, head and knee bruising, back sprains, disc injuries, fractures and concussions. People with these injuries usually know where and how badly they are injured right away, but in some instances symptoms come on slowly and increase with time.

All three Doctors have a proven history of successfully treating auto accident injured patients. We work with all patients, whether they choose to use an attorney, need a referral to a trusted local attorney or choose not to use an attorney. Even people who caused an accident may have injuries that need treatment.