Car Accident/Personal Injury
Were you recently in a car accident and don’t know where to start?
As personal injury experts, we are here to walk you through the process.
*If you are still at the site of the accident, make sure to take pictures of the accident and get information from the other party. This will be important to assess the type of injury during your exam and information for an attorney if you have one. Many auto insurance apps will have a step by step instruction for what needs to be gathered at the site of the accident., this includes things such as pictures of the vehicles and other involved in the accident. This is important whether or not you are at fault.
You need to be seen and evaluated within 14 days of the accident or else you will lose your personal injury protection benefits. This is available to all parties involved in an accident, whether you are at fault or not. Due to the time based constraints of this policy, we conveniently offer same day appointments and accommodation (early/late) appointments in order to be seen within that 14 day window. It’s imperative you are still seen within the 14 day window even if you are symptom free. Car accident injuries can take a few days to even weeks to arise, so don’t miss out on your benefits. Once you have scheduled the appointment, we need some information pertaining to the accident to get started. We need your drivers license, car insurance information, and any other crash details such as a crash report. Once we have these, we will begin the consultation and examine every aspect of the injuries you sustained from the accident. That will include orthopedic tests, neurological evaluations and range of motion assessments. If indicated or necessary for your case, you will be referred for imaging which can include MRIs or x-rays. If you already have an attorney, we will be in communication with them. If after the initial exam determines no other imaging is required, we will proceed with treatment. This will include chiropractic adjustments, manual therapy, and therapeutic exercises. Once treatment is completed, we will discuss the treatment plan and any other questions you may have. Due to the sheer nature of an accident, such as the weight of the vehicles and the speeds at which they traveled, there is an immense amount of force distributed to the body from the accident. Because of this and just like with any other health goal, this will not clear over night. This will take frequency and repetition in order to achieve improvements in your pain.
Treatment for car accident cases follow the 3 phases of care. The first phase is acute care, with the goal of decreasing symptoms by 50%. This is achieved by addressing the acute muscle strains and ligament sprains also known as whiplash, and often takes about 4 weeks of frequent treatment. After the acute phase, we then transition into the building phase, with the goal of strengthening the structures around the sites of injury. Here the focus is on maintaining optimal positions and withstanding painful movement with an additional 25-50% improvement in pain or discomfort. The last phase is remodeling, where we aim to get you back to your pre-accident activities without regression. Once these phases are completed graduation to wellness care can begin. This typically involves 1-2x appointments a month, ensuring your body is continuing to function optimally and decreases the amount of flare-ups/exacerbations of previous injuries.