Musculoskeletal injuries following an auto accident.
Chiropractors play a vital role in the recovery process following an auto accident. Commonly seen soft tissue complaints and injuries include neck pain, shoulder/arm pain, upper back pain, mid back pain, low back pain, and hip/leg pain. Chiropractors are experts in diagnosing and treating musculoskeletal issues, making them a critical component of post-accident care.
While medical care for extreme or catastrophic injuries is obvious and takes precedence, seeking care from a chiropractor for soft tissue injuries as soon as possible after an accident is crucial. The pain, muscle spasm, restricted motion, and profound swelling that arise from soft tissue injuries should be addressed early to prevent the injuries from progressing into more serious conditions.
The importance of getting your injured clients to a chiropractor first.
Chiropractors are trained and skilled in differential diagnosis. This is the process of consultation, examination, and assessment of all possible injuries, not just those associated with the neck and back. In addition to the common complaints after an auto accident, an individual may also experience numbness and tingling in the arms/hands and the legs/feet. They may experience chest/abdomen pain, headaches, face/scalp injuries, dental injuries, lacerations, dizziness, nausea, memory loss, visual disorders, sleep disorders, anxiety/depression, fear of driving, and a constant replaying of the accident in their minds.
An experienced auto accident chiropractor will work-up all the injuries and create a game plan specific to that patient that includes not only treatment from the chiropractor, but also referrals to the appropriate medical specialists for each patient’s injuries. An experienced auto accident chiropractor has, over time, developed a solid network of medical specialists to whom he or she can refer for any possible injury. A good auto accident chiropractor sees their role as not only the treating doctor, but the manager of the medical case. If you will, a quarterback calling the right play at the right time or a general contractor bringing in and coordinating the best contractors at the right time.
The travesty of, “we don’t see patients involved in auto accidents.”
All too often I see the following scenario. A person is involved in an automobile accident. They’re transported to the hospital via ambulance. Upon their release, they are given prescriptions and instructions to follow up with a physician. They’re given discharge papers with one or two names of physicians that the hospital has recommended they call. The patient gets home and calls those physicians only to find that the office doesn’t treat individuals involved in automobile accidents. So, they get their medication and self-treat at home for a bit. Their injuries don’t subside so they call their primary care physician – with whom they may have been a patient for decades – only to find out that their primary doesn’t see individuals involved in automobile accidents either. They eventually make their way to our office through self-search or referral, but now they’re two to four weeks post-accident without any treatment. In that time, underlying injuries may have worsened.
The Chiro/PT approach
In my 35 years of experience, I have found that collaboration of chiropractic and passive physical therapy first, with active physical therapy later, is the best game plan for the most successful recovery of soft tissue injuries. With all due respect to my PT brethren who do amazing things to get patients back to enjoying the lives they had before accidents, I have found that active physical therapy too soon after an accident, in the form of exercise done too aggressively, can hinder or at times make worse, the recovery process. I feel the best scenario is one that is broken into thirds. The first third is chiropractic and gentle passive physical therapy such as electric muscle stimulation and soft tissue work. The second phase is chiropractic and the introduction of rehabilitative exercises to promote healing. The third phase is active, progressive rehabilitative exercises under the guidance of a physical therapist to strengthen injured areas, thus preventing re-injury.
A reluctance to use a chiropractor?
Is there a reluctance to refer your client to a chiropractor? Perhaps it’s your client who doesn’t want to see a chiropractor. If so, don’t feel awkward. It happens. Given what people can see on YouTube, I sometimes don’t blame them. If I was seeking care from a provider and saw that their care appeared to yank the heads off people or that the care consisted of twisting and cracking every part of the body, I’d seriously reconsider. Rest assured we don’t do that at Burlington Spine & Rehab. We don’t attract patients who are seeking chiropractic adjustments. We see people who have been seriously injured in automobile accidents who want and need gentle treatment that promotes healing. Gentle spinal mobilization is but one of the therapy options we provide.
Or perhaps the reluctance to refer your client to a chiropractor is coming from you. If that is the case, I invite you to come to our office and meet us in person. Come see our office, meet our staff and doctors, and witness firsthand the care your clients will receive. Also, insurance adjustors are well-versed in chiropractic and are experienced in talking with plaintiff attorneys about their clients’ care in a chiropractor’s office. And in the event your case goes to trial, rest assured that the public perception of chiropractic is very high, given that chiropractors are people-centric and have a customer service mentality. Chiropractors enjoy a good reputation, and any testimony would resonate well with most jurors.
Conclusion
To recap, using an experienced auto accident chiropractor for your PI cases is important because:
- Chiropractors are trained and uniquely situated to treat musculoskeletal injuries seen in automobile accidents.
- Chiropractors develop a differential diagnosis, working up all aspects of injuries resulting from automobile accidents.
- Chiropractors will manage a PI case by ensuring injured patients see every appropriate medical specialist for their particular injuries.
- Chiropractors have a network of medical specialist providers for all possible injuries.
- Chiropractors have medicolegal knowledge and experience in auto insurance and their network of medical specialist providers do as well.
- Chiropractors collaborate well with physical therapists and know how and when to mix both practices.
- Chiropractors will patiently handle any concerns or fears that an injured individual may have if they’ve never been to a chiropractor or have reluctance in doing so.
