If you are involved in a car accident, the first thing you need to do is to seek medical attention. If you have sustained severe injuries, you are likely to be carried away from the accident scene by the paramedic emergency team. On the flip side, you might escape a few bruises and minor bumps. Nevertheless, no matter how minor or severe the car accident is, it is essential to visit a doctor or chiropractor for examination. Sometimes, because of the adrenaline rush, you may not notice any pain or injury symptoms at the moment.
Do Your Muscles Hurt Following An Auto Accident?
After an auto crash, you will notice body aches, pains, and soreness after the collision. The body aches often come from soft tissue injuries or structurally bone. You will also notice tight and sore muscles after a few days. Various factors contribute to body aches and soreness. When you are about to crash, the body tightens and braces for the impact. The body muscles tighten to help protect their prospective areas.
The tightening may make the muscles pull and in a severe case, the muscles tear. In stressful situations, the body releases adrenaline and endorphin hormones. These hormones may mask the pain, and you may not realize that you have suffered severe injuries immediately after the accident. Most often, the real damage reveals until later in days and some cases, days later.
After the collision, the muscles start to relax. The hormones also subside, and this is where you may start experiencing muscle pain. It is crucial to be attentive to the body’s pain signals. Consider seeking medical advice if you experience consistent throbbing pain or stabbing pain in any of your body parts.
Tips to Help Relieve Muscle Pain
Muscle pain causes many discomforts. As such, it is crucial to find fast relief. Unfortunately, this is not easy to accomplish because of the nature of the injuries. Most of this muscle is located deep inside the body, making it hard to access them. Howbeit the following tips will help relieve pain and hasten the healing process.
Stay Hydrated
Staying hydrated is one of the vital steps to help relieve muscle pain. Drinking plenty of fluids throughout the day will provide the muscles with the essential nutrients they need to heal. Dehydration leads to improper muscle functioning, leading to muscle cramps and tightening. Proper hydration ensures that your muscles are relaxed, keeping them from tightening and causing pain.
Chiropractic Care
Chiropractic care also helps ease muscle strains and speeds up the injury’s recovery time. After visiting a chiropractor, he/she will come up with a customized routine to cater to your particular needs. The treatment usually includes light exercise and stretches.
Chiropractic Massage Therapy/Therapeutic Massages
Chiropractic Massages or therapeutic massage therapy are other useful option that helps relieve pain and promotes faster healing. The Chiropractic therapy includes general therapy, deep tissue massage, and stone therapy. Deep tissue massage soothes the deep muscles within your body. Massage therapy will help your muscles to relax and eliminate muscle cramps, which can be painful.
Yoga and Stretching
Stretching and Yoga exercises are crucial when it comes to relaxing muscle stiffness. Both the exercises require deep breathing, providing your muscles with the much-needed oxygen to function optimally. The exercises also relax the tight muscles, easing the pain and promoting speedy healing. Additionally, the exercises are also helpful for your whole body, allowing you shed excess weight naturally.
Rest
Rest is crucial to allow the muscle to relax and heal. Your muscles require time to recuperate from the damage that results from an auto accident. Take a break from tedious work and let your body heal. There is no definitive time set for the healing process. The time needed will depend on the nature and extent of the muscle damage. Let your body be your guide and give it as much time as possible to heal.
Signs You Need Medical Treatment
The above tips are crucial to allow your muscles to recover from auto accident. As your body continues to heal, it is crucial to pay attention to the pain signs it gives you. If you experience any of these signs, consider visiting a doctor.
The Pain Doesn’t Go Away
If you do not have any physical injuries, you may decide to go home and let the body’s healing process kick in. However, if your pain does not go away even after days of rest, you should see a doctor.
Your Pain Gets Worse
Similarly, if the pain gets worse, this is a sign that you should seek medical assistance. Pain that worsens often indicates severe internal injuries. A doctor will examine you and give the appropriate diagnosis to avoid long-term effects.
Headaches
After suffering a car crash, it is common to experience a concussion. Rest is crucial for both your body and mind. However, if you experience a severe headache after taking hours of rest, it could mean that you suffered severe injuries. Most often, spinal cord injuries and whiplash are the most common serious injuries that cause headaches and migraines.
Stiffness or Limited Mobility
Limited mobility and stiffness indicate various traumatic injuries. Whether you are experiencing lower back pain, ankle pain, or any other physical limitation, you should consider visiting a doctor or chiropractor.
Hearing or Visual Impairments
Visual and hearing impairments can also be asymptomatic of various serious injuries. To start, this may indicate direct damage to the ears and eyes. It may also be because of spinal cord injuries and traumatic brain injuries.
Difficulty Remembering, Concentrating, or Lack of Sleep
Concussions and other traumatic brain injuries are often characterized by difficulty concentrating, difficulty remembering, and trouble sleeping. While most people think that the pain incurred during the accident keeps them awake late at night, it could indicate a severe problem.
Difficulty Using The Restroom
Having problems while using the restroom is a potential sign of spinal cord injuries, especially when you experience sharp pain in your lower back. You should also see a doctor if you experience bladder control or bowel loss after a car accident.
Why You Should Always Get Medical Treatment After a Car Accident
Even when you do not think that you suffered any serious injuries after a car accident, it is essential to visit a doctor or chiropractor. Doing so will not only protect your health but also offers legal protection in case the injuries worsen. Below are some of the reasons why it is crucial to visit a doctor after a car accident.
Spot Injuries
The most crucial health-related reason to seek immediate medical treatment after an auto accident is to spot injuries. Our body releases hormones that mask the pain and may lead to delayed onset injuries, meaning that you may not experience any problem for several days or weeks. Whiplash is a good example, which may take days or weeks to manifest. Notably, the earlier you visit the doctor, the sooner the doctor will address the injuries, preventing them from escalating.
Endorphins May Hide Injuries
When you are about to crash, the body goes into fight or flight mode, releasing adrenaline or endorphins. These hormones mask pain, meaning that you may overlook the injuries immediately. Going in for a medical examination will help the medical specialist to spot these injuries. A doctor may request digital imaging such as X-rays, which are particularly useful in case of broken bones.
Protect Yourself Legally
Another crucial reason why you need to visit a doctor is to have legal protection. Visiting a doctor provides you with the right documentation that you sustained injuries during the car accidents. If you take long to visit the doctor or chiropractor, the other party’s lawyer may claim that the injuries were from elsewhere. The lawyer may also claim that the injuries were not serious, as you did not need medical attention.
Choosing The Right Doctor After a Car Accident
While it is tempting to see your primary care doctor after an accident, it is not always advisable. True, having a good relationship with your doctor is excellent. However, general medical practitioners do not specialize in car accident injuries. As stated, it is essential to find a doctor who specializes in auto injuries. If you are suffering from muscle pain, the following doctors can be of assistance to you.
Physiatrist
A physiatrist is a medical specialist who specializes in physical medicine and rehabilitation. These professionals’ main goal is to restore functional ability and improve their patients’ quality of life. They start by examining your injuries and work with you to come up with a long-lasting rehabilitation that enables you to get back to your normal daily activities.
Chiropractor
Chiropractor works with patients suffering from spinal, knee, shoulder, and whiplash injuries. Most individuals who suffer from muscle pain after an auto accident also suffer from whiplash injuries. Chiropractor uses various adjustment techniques to restore the standard, musculoskeletal body structure, alleviating pain and aches. These professionals work with car accident patients and offer primary care, meaning you do not need a doctor referral to visit a chiropractor. Chiropractic treatments also help to free up joints, relieve chronic pain, and realigns the spine.
Physical Therapist
Physical therapists also help in your post-accident rehabilitation, especially for individuals dealing with muscle pain. The professional will take you through a series of strategic plan exercises that helps you recover from your auto accidents. The exercises will also help you build up muscle strength and range of motion, allowing you to get back on your feet in a short period. Additionally, physical therapy will help you back to functioning pain-free and mitigate the long-term effects of auto injuries.
Pain Management Doctor
Muscle pain can be deliberating, and you may not be capable of doing general tasks and home chores. A pain management doctor can help you in managing pain. The doctor trains the patient on various rehabilitation techniques that help you to recover faster.
Acupuncturist
If you prefer natural and holistic treatments, an acupuncturist is a great professional to see when experiencing muscle pain. Acupuncturists use a series of small needles to ease muscle stress. The needles open up pathways in the body, reducing pain and inflammation. The process also promotes speedy natural healing.
Do Not Wait; Get Seek Medical Help Right Away!
Finding the right doctor is the first and most crucial step on your road to recovery following a car crash. It is also crucial to ensure that you find a doctor immediately after the accident. While rest may ease the muscle pain, it is essential to get the right treatment. Unfortunately, most home remedies will not work, and in most cases, the pain gets worse. Additionally, having the right documentation protects you legally. Doctor’s medical records will help you get compensation from a third party. The right doctor will help you get better and address the root problem, preventing further damage. Moreover, the doctor will help to speed up the recovery process through rehabilitation, enabling you to get back to your everyday life in no time.
At T98 Rehab and Chiropractic, we have an in-house physical therapist and chiropractor to meet your needs for any auto accident-related injury. We will do an initial check-up, if needed we will do an x-ray, and come up with a complete recovery plan. We will come up with short and long-term goals for your road to recovery. If you have been in an accident recently, please give us a call or contact us via chat