No one wants to be in an automobile accident but even for the safest, most cautious drivers, they’re almost inevitable. You can do everything right but you have no control over the other drivers, weather conditions, or wild animals that may cross your path. Even a small fender-bender that causes minimal damage to your car can cause serious damage to you.
Common Injuries
Subluxation, or misalignment of the spine, can occur when you slip and fall or “throw out your back” doing some kind of activity, but it’s also a common auto accident injury. When your spine is out of alignment, the pathways that connect your various systems with your brain are disrupted. This can cause a myriad of problems from digestive problems to a weakened immune system. The longer a subluxation is left undiagnosed and untreated, the more degeneration may occur to the spinal discs and the more difficult it is to repair.
Often, injuries that occur in automobile accidents are injuries to the limbs, particularly in the joints at the knees, elbows, wrists, and shoulders. If not treated, an injury of this type could lead to inactivity of the limb which can cause it to lose some of its mobility over time. The shoulders are most vulnerable during a crash and can be sprained or there can be damage to the rotator cuff which is the group of muscles at the shoulder that gives your arms their range of motion.
Tinnitus commonly occurs after an accident. This ringing in the ears can be short-lived but it can also become a long-term problem. Chiropractic treatment can improve or eliminate tinnitus by realigning the spine and the upper cervical bones that are important to sound processing in the brain.
Some injuries may be obvious at the time of the accident while others may have symptoms that don’t show up until days or weeks later. Injuries like whiplash, a concussion, and traumatic brain injury, for example, may show up as a little soreness at the time of the accident and can be much worse later on.
Whiplash usually occurs in rear-end collisions when the head is thrust front and back violently. The soft tissue in the neck becomes damaged and the resulting pain can last for days or even years. If diagnosed early, the chances of a successful recovery are improved.
Even if you’re dutifully wearing your seat belt, it is possible to get a concussion in an accident. You may also suffer from headaches after an accident because even if you don’t have whiplash, the force of your head being whipped around can put pressure on the nerves in the neck.
Don’t Wait
You may not even realize that the pain you’re feeling now was from an accident you had weeks ago. It’s important to be checked out right away after you’ve been in an auto accident so these hard-to-detect injuries can be discovered and treated as early as possible. At North County Pain Relief, we understand the damage that an auto accident can do. Dr. Adam Elsey can find the hidden injuries from accidents and design a treatment plan for recovery so your life is back to normal as quickly as possible. Chiropractic care is a drug-free and natural treatment that is highly effective in the care of auto accident injuries. If you’ve been in an auto accident, call North County Pain Relief at (314)731-4201 and make an appointment today to get the help you need.
