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Auto Accidents & Why You Should See Your Chiropractor ASAP

After being involved in a car crash, it can be difficult to determine what is important to do. While you may or not be in pain, you also probably be dealing with getting your car fixed, any damage done to any other cars, insurance, and transportation if your car is unable to be used. This is a lot on a person’s mind all at once. It can be easy to disregard any minor pain. It also would be easy to skip being checked out if you are not in any pain at all. However, you should always be checked out by a chiropractor as soon as possible following an auto accident. Let us explain why.

In a car crash, there are three types of collisions that can occur. The first collision is your car hitting what it is colliding with (another car, a pole, a deer). The second collision happens inside the vehicle; this collision involves you hitting the interior of the car (the seatbelt, the windshield, your headrest). This collision is able to create obvious injuries; injuries you can clearly see. The third collision actually happens inside of your body. This is when your organs and bones collide with each other. This can create injuries you cannot see or even feel.

One of the most common injuries that can happen in an auto collision is whiplash. This injury happens when the cervical spine (the spine in your neck) is thrust forward and then pulled back quickly. It can result in structural damage like strains, sprains, and misalignments. Common symptoms are stiffness and pain. While many times whiplash is felt right away, there are cases where whiplash is not felt for days, weeks, or even months. This may be because your body is paying attention to a more obvious injury or it could be because of the release of endorphins our body sends out when it goes through trauma. Endorphins are our body’s natural pain reliever which could be hiding your whiplash pain.

This is why it is very important to see a chiropractor as soon as possible after you have been involved in an auto accident. There may be soft-tissue injuries you cannot see or spinal misalignments you never feel. Months after the accident, you could experience a painful or stiff neck and not know it had to do with the accident. In addition, leaving an injury untreated can result in chronic pain later on. Chiropractors are able to detect injuries from auto accidents and implement a treatment plan to set you back on the right track. If you have recently been involved in an auto accident, be sure to schedule an appointment with your chiropractor as soon as possible.