A car accident is an unfortunate byproduct of modern life. If you’re lucky, you’ll only ever be involved in a few minor fender-benders. However, other car crashes are far more serious, resulting in auto accident injuries. Active Life Chiropractic in Charlotte explores the most common car accident injuries, and discusses chiropractic treatment for car accidents available to victims in the aftermath.
Brain/head injuries
Brain/head trauma represent some of the most common car accident injuries. Depending on speed of impact, the nature of the collision, and whether the victim was wearing a seatbelt, brain/head trauma can range from a mild concussion to a serious brain injury. These kinds of auto accident injuries are also called “closed-head injuries because they don’t result in cuts or bleeding. This makes them harder detect, and even a minor accident can jostle and bruise the brain. Our chiropractor recommends that at the very least you get an examination from your doctor, who may in turn suggest a neurologist.
Back injuries
Back injuries and back pain are common in car accident-related symptoms. Some of the most common back injuries stemming auto accidents include:
- Disc injury
- Sprain
- Fracture
- Strain
- Thoracic spine injury
- Lumbar spine injury
- Lumbar radiculopathy
All of these ailments are due to the enormous, unnatural torque that affects the bodies of car passengers during the impact of an auto accident. If you have back pain stemming from a car accident, our chiropractor serving Charlotte recommends making an appointment at our clinic. We’ll take x-rays to assess the injury’s seriousness, and then suggest a treatment plan. This could include chiropractic adjustment, stretching, spinal realignment, and physical therapy.
Neck injuries
The neck and the back are intrinsically connected. Often times an injury to the back can also manifest in the neck, and vice versa. The most frequent neck problem associated with car accidents is whiplash, an injury that can range in pain from a mild throbbing/stiffness to major issues related to moving the neck even slightly. Other car accident-related trauma includes disc injury and cervical radiculopathy, the latter of which is caused by irritation to a nerve in the neck.
Similar to head and back injuries, neck injuries can take time to fully appear. That’s why, just as in the case of car accident back pain, we strongly suggest visiting our chiropractor for a full evaluation.
Face injuries/psychological trauma
Two areas where chiropractic treatment takes a backseat to other practitioners are facial injuries and psychological trauma. Facial injury takes a variety of forms (scrapes, bruises, lacerations, dental trauma) and is best addressed by a facial surgeon or plastic surgeon. As for psychological trauma, different people process and cope in different ways. Emotional distress is common amongst many car accident victims. In the fallout from serious, potentially life-threatening car accidents, survivors can develop a condition similar to post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Active Life Chiropractic provides expert chiropractic treatment for auto accidents, as well as treatment and support for a variety of other physical ailments. Contact us today for an appointment.