Physical Therapy After A Car Accident
The Car Accident: A Traumatic Experience.
If you have ever been in a serious car accident, then you probably understand how much of an impact it can have on your physical, emotional, and social well-being. A car accident is a traumatic event. It will not only cause physical stress to the body, but can cause emotional and mental stress as well. I work with many I work with many patients each day who come to physical therapy after being in a car accident. In addition to any physical injuries sustained during the car accident, many people also experience stress related to getting their car fixed, apprehension to drive again, and financial related stress as well. Going to see your physical therapist after a car accident can speed up your recovery time and help prevent further complications and injury.
Physical Effects Of A Car Accident
Obviously a car accident at high speeds can cause very serious, permanent injuries and even death. In this article, we are referring to the more common, less serious car accident in which the drivers and/or passengers sustain only minor injuries. Most often, a car accident will cause the persons involved to undergo a quick, jerking movement. These types of movements can yield several different types of injuries. The first type of injury is a whiplash injury. Whiplash is when the neck is forcefully thrown in one direction and rebounded in the opposite direction. Serious whiplash injuries should always be followed up with an open-mouth x-ray in order to confirm that there is not damage to the ligaments of the upper cervical spine. Ligament damage in the upper cervical spine can be a life-threatening situation.
Most people in a car accident will experience this whiplash type injury to the neck and torso. When the body is quickly and forcefully thrown in multiple directions, it can cause severe stress to the surrounding ligaments and muscles. These are the types of injuries I see most often in the clinic after a car accident. The ligaments and muscles get stretched beyond their capacity and become sprained and strained. After this type of stress, the muscles tend to reflexively guard against motion. This is why, if you’ve ever been in a car accident, you feel very stiff with all movements for several weeks after the accident. This can cause severe pain, stiffness, and even lead to movement apprehension and fear-avoidance patterns. The good news is that it does not have to be that way. There are certain things you can do immediately after the car accident in order to get better quicker.
What You Should Do After A Car Accident
Sprained ligaments and strained muscles sustained during a car accident can lead to further complications if untreated. The reflexive muscle guarding that I mentioned above can lead to chemical muscle guarding. This occurs when a muscle is constantly in a contracted state, in which it will continuously release chemical byproducts that cause it to stay in that contracted states. This type of muscle guarding becomes a vicious cycle.
Unless any serious injuries were sustained during the car accident, it is important to get your muscles moving right away. Of course, this process should be gradual and should be supervised by a rehabilitation professional like your physical therapist. The quicker you can get the muscles moving, the better chance you have of getting your muscles to relax and loosen up.
Your physical therapist will integrate massage therapy, joint mobilizations, gentle isometric exercises, muscle stretching, and many other modalities to help your muscles loosen up immediately. It used to be thought that immobilization in a neck brace and bed rest were the best things to do after a traumatic event like a car accident. Current research does not support that type of intervention. The best thing you can do, immediately after a car accident, is go directly to your physical therapist for a full evaluation. Here at PhysioStrength, we give each patient an individualized treatment plan based on the severity of the injury. We work with our patients one on one to help them to regain full mobility and function as quickly as possible.
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PhysioStrength Physical Therapy
2909 S. 12th St. Tacoma, WA, 98405
Phone: (253)-722-9788
Fax: (253)-778-6992
cnaccarato@physiostrength.com