How Long Do You Need to See a Chiropractor After a Car Accident?
Car accidents are frustrating, inconvenient, and scary. They’re made even worse when you walk away with an injury (or two).
If you’ve sustained an injury from a car accident, there is good news — your life isn’t over.
There are treatments that can allow you to resume life as normally as possible when followed correctly, but you should seek the professional help of a chiropractor.
This guide will explain:
- How long to see a chiropractor after a car accident
- What factors play into your treatment plan
- When to expect your chiropractic care to be over
- And more
Table of Contents
- How Many Times Should You See a Chiropractor After a Car Accident?
- 6 Factors That Affect How Many Chiropractic Visits After a Car Accident You Will Need
- What Is the Average Amount of Chiropractic Visits That Most Patients Need?
- How Does a Chiropractor Determine the Amount of Visits You’ll Need During the Healing Process?
- When Should You Stop Seeing a Car Accident Chiropractor?
- Can You See a Chiropractor “Too Much”?
- Contact Cascade Spine & Injury Center Today to Schedule an Appointment With a Car Accident Chiropractor
How Many Times Should You See a Chiropractor After a Car Accident?
You’ve recently been in a car accident and you have sustained minor injuries. You have a sore neck, your lower back is in pain, and it’s uncomfortable to stay in one position for too long.
You might consider visiting a chiropractor to help your healing process. But how many chiropractic visits after a car accident are needed?
That depends.
The number of visits an individual will have with a chiropractor will vary based on the severity of their injuries and how well the person heals. The ultimate goal is to:
- Fully rehab the injury
- Reduce pain; and
- Have you back to normal functioning as soon as possible
6 Factors That Affect How Many Chiropractic Visits After a Car Accident You Will Need
If you’ve experienced a car accident, you might be wondering if seeking professional treatment for healing is necessary. Should you see a chiropractor?
Visiting a chiropractor post-car accident can be very beneficial for you to properly heal, but how many times should you see a chiropractor after a car accident?
These 6 factors will help a chiropractor determine how many visits are necessary to fully rehab your injuries:
- The type of injury you sustained
- The severity of your injury
- How many injuries you have
- How quickly you went for treatment following the injury
- How well your body responds to treatment; and
- Your treatment goals
If you’ve experienced a car accident, the team of chiropractors at Cascade Spine & Injury Center is equipped to help.
Not only do we have experienced and professional chiropractors, but talented acupuncturists and massage therapists are available for your rehabilitation depending on your injuries.
#1: The Type of Injury
A person can sustain a handful of different injury types if they’ve been in a car accident.
Most commonly, car accidents cause:
- Broken bones — can vary in severity from smaller fractures to severe breaks. They can take a few weeks to a few months to heal. Seeking medical attention quickly is important for the healing process. To help rehab your break, chiropractors can work with you to help create and support healthier bones through adjustments, therapeutic massage, and other rehabilitation treatments.
- Whiplash — is an injury to the neck that happens when there is a forceful back-and-forth motion. When it comes to car accidents, whiplash is most common when you are rear-ended and can cause temporary soreness and strains, or long-lasting complications. A chiropractor will help to restore motion in the neck with different exercises that help strengthen the deep cervical muscles.
- Head injuries — also vary in severity from a small bump or bruise to a serious concussion or traumatic brain injury. A chiropractor should be seen immediately to help treat head injuries post car accidents.
- Back injuries — Spinal cord injuries are the most common type of back injury experienced from a car accident. Depending on the severity, back injuries can range from herniated disks to paralysis. To help heal back injuries, a chiropractor can offer adjustments, exercise, and rehabilitation treatments.
#2: The Severity of Your Injury
As we’ve mentioned, the severity of your injury will play a big part in your chiropractic treatment — both the length of treatment and the type of treatment you receive.
More severe injuries will likely take longer to heal and require more intense and involved rehabilitation. Less severe injuries might require fewer chiropractor visits before you’re back to living life as you once were pre-accident.
#3: The Number of Injuries Sustained
Although you might walk away from a car accident with just one injury to focus on healing, car accidents oftentimes cause multiple injuries.
Sometimes, those additional injuries aren’t noticed until a few days post-accident or until you seek professional chiropractic care for a diagnosis.
For example:
Joey was involved in a car accident where he was rear-ended by a driver who sent him head-on into the car in front of him. Once Joey got his bearings, he knew right away that he had experienced intense whiplash. His neck was immediately sore, and he felt his forehead hit the steering wheel and the back of his head hit his seat a handful of times.
Joey knew he should seek medical attention right away, and he was referred to a chiropractor to rehab the neck pain from his whiplash. When his appointment arrived, Joey realized he was also experiencing pain in his shoulder. After visiting with the chiropractor, Joey learned the radiating shoulder pain was a cause of his neck pain from the whiplash.
After 8 weeks of care, Joey was pain-free back to doing his normal daily activities.
#4: How Soon You Decide to Seek Treatment
It is highly recommended to seek treatment as soon as possible following a car accident where you’ve sustained any injuries.
The sooner you begin the recovery process, the better outcome your rehabilitation is likely to have.
This could mean:
- Injuries are diagnosed sooner
- The recovery process is started quicker
- Fewer visits might be needed
#5: How Well Your Body Responds to Treatment
Because every patient’s body is unique, their recovery process will also be different.
This could mean a quicker recovery process for you than it does for a friend who sustained the same injuries from the same car accident.
#6: Your Treatment Goals
Your personal treatment goals will play a part in how long your chiropractic care might last.
Of course, chiropractors consider your injuries when creating your treatment plan, but they also want to know what it is that you are hoping for following your treatment.
Maybe you’re an athlete and you’re hoping to get back into sports as close to normal as possible. Your treatment might be longer and more intense.
Maybe you’re just hoping to get back to living your normal daily life of working, caring for your family, and frequent walks. Your treatment might take less time than others.
What Is the Average Amount of Chiropractic Visits Most Patients Need?
After taking all of these factors into consideration, a chiropractor will be able to better gauge how many visits a patient needs following a car accident.
On average, 6-8 weeks of rehabilitation can be expected. This could be less or more based on each individual.
If you’ve been in a car accident and are looking for care, the team at Cascade Spine & Injury Center is eager to help your rehabilitation process.
Contact us to book an appointment today.
How Does a Chiropractor Determine the Amount of Visits You’ll Need During the Healing Process?
When you initially visit your chiropractor, they will assess your condition and the severity of your injuries. This assessment will help the chiropractor determine:
- Your injuries
- The severity of those injuries
- Your end goals
- How well your body might respond to rehabilitation
- A treatment plan
Your chiropractor will then estimate how long your rehabilitation might be and provide you with an expected number of visits.
As you progress through treatments and your body becomes stronger, the number of treatments might shorten. However, if more injuries are discovered or your body responds slower than expected, rehabilitation might be extended.
A complete health assessment should be done every 30 days to evaluate how well your body is responding and adjust your recovery.
When Should You Stop Seeing a Car Accident Chiropractor?
Taking the time to properly heal from an injury can be a frustrating and long process. We understand you want to get back to your “normal” life as soon as possible.
It is important to see your chiropractic treatment through until the end following a car accident, and that length of time can only be determined by your chiropractor.
Depending on how well your body is responding to treatment, your chiropractor can provide you with the most accurate answer as to when you can stop your chiropractic care.
Can You See a Chiropractor “Too Much”?
Chiropractic care is meant to help you, not hurt you.
So how many times should you see a chiropractor after a car accident? Is there such a thing as “too much”?
There could be.
Your chiropractor will be able to provide you with an idea of how often you should seek care, whether that be weekly or monthly. However, to achieve optimal results, it is not necessary to have daily chiropractic care.
Contact Cascade Spine & Injury Center Today to Schedule an Appointment With a Car Accident Chiropractor
Car accidents are frustrating and scary experiences. They can be made even worse when you’ve sustained injuries from them, no matter how big or small.
At Cascade Spine & Injury Center, we understand that you want to get back to living your normal daily life as soon as possible. And we want to help.
Not only do we provide great chiropractic care, but we offer acupuncture services and massage therapy services, too. We are equipped with the tools and knowledge to get you back to feeling like your best self as soon as possible.
Contact us to book your first appointment today.