Traffic collisions can be incredibly common and may result in a variety of injuries, from minor to severe. When trying to treat the most common traffic collision injuries, traditional medical treatment is essential. However, you may find that chiropractic care offers a more holistic approach to healing and pain management.

At Elite Chiropractic, we understand how important it is for patients to alleviate discomfort after a traffic collision. Without proper care from medical providers, you may struggle to return to everyday activities. If you want to learn more about how chiropractors can help you recover from the most common traffic collision injuries, keep reading. 

1. Whiplash

Whiplash is an injury that occurs when your neck is suddenly jolted back and forth. This sudden, unexpected movement can cause strain on the neck muscles and ligaments. Many patients who’ve been rear-ended experience traffic collision injuries like whiplash. 

If you seek chiropractic care for whiplash, your chiropractor will focus on realigning your spine and reducing accompanying muscle tension. They may utilize spinal manipulation, manual therapies, and specific exercises to restore your range of motion and alleviate discomfort. In as few as six weeks, you may begin to feel much better than before the accident. 

2. Back Pain

Back pain following a traffic collision is one of the most common traffic collision injuries patients may experience. This back pain may be a result of muscle strain, spinal misalignment, or herniated discs. The force of the accident can cause significant stress on the spine and surrounding tissue. 

When you see a chiropractor after an accident, they will address this pain through spinal adjustments that aim to correct misalignment. These chiropractic adjustments will improve your mobility and reduce any inflammation you’re experiencing, promoting overall natural healing. Some chiropractors may also use spinal decompression therapy to strengthen your back and prevent further injuries. 

3. Headaches or Migraines

Although you might not realize it, many patients experience headaches and migraines in addition to other traffic collision injuries. Often, these post-collision headaches stem from neck injuries, tension, or concussions. The pain that accompanies these headaches may range from mild to debilitating, affecting your everyday activities.

If you’re experiencing a headache after a traffic collision, chiropractors will seek to identify the root cause of the headache. They may offer cervical spinal adjustments to reduce nerve irritation and muscle tension. Additionally, they may recommend lifestyle and ergonomic adjustments to help manage and prevent headaches. 

4. Shoulder Injuries

Traffic collision injuries affecting your shoulder may include rotator cuff tears and shoulder impingement. Whether you are incredibly physically active or attempting to get everyday responsibilities done, these injuries can make performing these tasks incredibly difficult and can impact your range of motion.

When you experience shoulder injuries after a traffic collision, your chiropractor may perform a combination of joint manipulation, soft tissue therapies, and rehabilitation. These treatments can help you restore shoulder mobility, reduce pain, and improve your overall function. Additionally, chiropractors may use modalities like laser therapy to promote tissue healing.

5. Soft Tissue Injuries

The impact of a traffic collision may result in a variety of soft tissue injuries, including sprains, strains, and contusions that affect muscles, ligaments, and tendons. These injuries occur after a variety of accidents, and without proper care, they may become more significant, making swift treatment essential.

Chiropractic treatment for soft tissue injuries from a traffic collision involves techniques including myofascial release, trigger point therapy, and therapeutic massage. These methods aim to reduce pain, decrease muscle stiffness, and enhance blood flow to the affected areas, facilitating faster recovery.

6. Herniated Discs

A herniated disc happens when the soft center of one of your spinal discs pushes through a tear in its outer layer. This can sometimes press on nearby nerves, causing sharp pain, discomfort, numbness, tingling, or weakness in your arms or legs. If you experience these symptoms after a car accident, it could be due to a herniated disc.

When you have a herniated disc, your chiropractor may recommend spinal decompression and gentle manipulation techniques to relieve the pressure being put on your nerves. By restoring proper alignment and function of the spine, chiropractic care can significantly reduce pain and improve mobility. They may also recommend customized exercise programs to support spinal health.

Compassionate Care for Traffic Collision Injuries in Wenatchee, WA

If you’ve recently been in a traffic collision, it is essential that you work with a chiropractic team that provides reliable and compassionate care. If you’re looking for a team in the Wenatchee area, turn to our team at Elite Chiropractic. For years, we’ve provided the most compassionate chiropractic care to patients across the area. 

Whether you’re recovering from traffic collision injuries, sports injuries, or discomfort during pregnancy, our team is here to help. If you want to learn more about how our team can help you recover from common traffic collision injuries, or you’re ready to schedule an appointment to begin healing, don’t hesitate to contact us today. 

When you are in pain, you will likely do anything in your power to help yourself feel better. But, sometimes, no matter how well-intentioned you are, you may do more harm than good when seeking treatment. Some home treatment options include anti-inflammatory medications or the use of ice or heat. 

Ice and heat can do a lot to help you heal, but they are not created equal and can be used at the wrong time. If you want to use ice or heat for your injury, it is crucial to know when to use each and how it can benefit your healing process. 

Our team at Elite Chiropractic wants you to understand when to use ice or heat for your injuries and how improper use may lead to more substantial problems. 

The Importance Of Heat

When you are in pain, you may reach for a heating pad to deliver some relief. When used for the appropriate injuries, heat can make a substantial difference. Heat stimulates blood flow toward the injury site. As the blood flows, it carries nutrients to the injury and helps promote healing. It also helps muscles unclench, making you more comfortable as you begin to heal. Forms of heat therapy that you can perform at home may include using heating pads, soaking in hot water, and steamed towels. 

The Importance of Ice

While heat is a great way to draw blood toward an injury to begin promoting healing, ice is a wonderful way to calm inflammation and irritation. It is especially common to utilize ice immediately following an accident or injury. Ice is a crucial part of the healing process, as it constricts blood flow, which can help quell edema, also known as swelling. The most common form of ice therapy is the use of an ice pack, though some may also utilize ice baths and coolant sprays at home as well. 

When To Use Heat Therapy

If you are looking for treatment to relax muscles and promote healing, you should seek heat therapies. If you are dealing with any of the following injuries, you may benefit from at-home heat therapies:

• Muscle stiffness and tension: If you are experiencing back pain as a result of muscle stiffness, heat therapies can help relax the muscles, relieving this discomfort. 
• Muscle spasms: Using heat while a muscle is spasming may help the muscle relax and prevent continued spasming. 
• Chronic pain: If you experience chronic pain from conditions such as fibromyalgia or arthritis, heat therapies may help improve mobility and comfort. 

While heat therapies are a great way to soothe discomfort, it is essential that you understand how to use them properly. Heat should never exceed 113°F, as excessive heat may cause more damage to injured areas. If you are using at-home heat therapies, the heat should only be applied for 15 to 20 minutes. Additionally, the heat should never have direct contact with the skin. A cloth or towel should be placed between the heat source and your skin to prevent burns. 

When To Use Ice Therapy

When seeking ice therapy, it is often most beneficial to an acute or new injury. Many of these injuries are followed by immediate swelling, which benefits most from ice. If you are experiencing any of the following injuries, you should consider using ice therapies to treat them:

• Wrist or ankle sprains: Ice can help reduce swelling of strained or sprained muscles, ligaments, or tendons that accompany these sprains. 
• Joint or muscle sprains: Whether the irritation is from sports injuries or arthritis, ice may alleviate some pain and inflammation. 
• Swollen body parts: Ice is especially helpful for swelling because it cools blood running through the injured body part. If your skin is hot to the touch, you should reach for ice. 
• Headaches or migraines: While this isn’t an external injury, it still benefits from ice’s healing properties. If you have a headache or migraine, ice may be able to soothe some of that discomfort. 

Ice therapies should be used immediately following your injury for them to be most beneficial. Like heat therapies, you should only use it for 15 to 20 minutes, and it shouldn’t come in direct contact with the skin. If the skin becomes pale or numb, ice should immediately be removed. If you are unsure whether to use ice or heat, you should reach out to your primary care provider. They can assess the extent of the injury and provide you with a proper healing plan. 

Can You Use Ice Or Heat At The Wrong Time?

It is important that you use ice or heat to help yourself heal from injuries; it is even more important to understand when each can do more harm than good. If you use ice or heat at the wrong time, you may deal with increases in swelling or slower healing times. Try to avoid heat therapies when dealing with swelling, acute injuries such as falls, or after activity. Ice should be avoided if you have muscle or joint stiffness. Whether you use ice or heat, remember to heed these warnings to prevent worsening the injury and extending the healing time.

Use Ice Or Heat With Chiropractic Care

While it is great to use ice or heat on your injury during the healing process, there is more that you can do to boost the healing process. If you are experiencing an injury that you are struggling to recover from, you should consider seeking the help of a chiropractor. At Elite Chiropractic, our team has years of experience that makes us confident we can help you through whatever injury you have. 

Our team helps patients with pain from auto accidents, pregnancy, sports injuries, and more. If you are interested in scheduling an appointment with our Elite Chiropractic team or would like to speak with us about the services and how they can help you heal while you use ice or heat on your injury, contact us today.

After a car accident, you are likely to experience a lot of pain, and you may struggle to find any solace from it. Your doctor likely won’t prescribe any pain medication and may suggest you seek alternative treatments. If you are experiencing pain and are looking for a way to alleviate this discomfort, you should see a chiropractor after a car accident. 

A chiropractor can perform many treatments to help calm irritation and inflammation. If you have been in a car accident and are seeking chiropractic care to treat discomfort, our experts at Elite Chiropractic have compiled a list of injuries they can help you recover from and what they can do to improve your symptoms. 

Common Car Accident Injuries

There are many common injuries that you may experience after being in a car accident. The unexpected trauma, no matter how minor, can leave you feeling incredibly uncomfortable for weeks afterward. The most common injuries following a car accident that your chiropractor can help you recover from include the following:

• Whiplash
• Concussion
• Back Pain
• Shoulder Injuries
• Herniated Discs 

While some of these injuries require immediate medical attention, there are many injuries you may receive during a car accident that your physician cannot address. They may suggest you take it easy and allow time to heal you. However, there are many injuries that chiropractic care can help alleviate more quickly. 

1. Whiplash

Whiplash is a common neck injury when your head is suddenly thrust backward and forward. This rapid movement forces the muscles and ligaments in the neck to hyperextend. It can occur after a car accident or sports injury. People with whiplash often experience neck stiffness, arm, shoulder, and back pain, and dizziness. 

While whiplash is incredibly irritating and can make everyday life difficult, it is important to remember that a chiropractor can help you relieve some of the discomfort you are experiencing. These treatments can include spinal decompression and corrections. Your chiropractor will identify misaligned neck joints and reposition them to allow more comfort. They will also use gentle manipulation to decrease pain and inflammation. 

2. Concussion

A concussion is a head injury that, similarly to whiplash, occurs when your experience a hit to the head that causes the brain and head to move rapidly back and forth. The damage from a concussion may vary from person to person; however, the sudden movement can cause the brain to bounce or twist around, causing chemical changes and damage to brain cells. You may experience headaches, nausea, dizziness, or light and sound sensitivity if you receive a concussion after a car accident. 

Often, the first thing a chiropractor will recommend when you receive a concussion is plenty of rest. This rest period is often enough to alleviate many of your symptoms. However, your doctor may also recommend you take anti-inflammatory medications to help reduce irritation from headaches. If you are hoping to see a chiropractor after a concussion, they may do treatments that focus on pain in your neck and back, including mobility and decompression therapies. 

3. Back Pain

Back pain after a car accident is not uncommon and can come in many different forms. Some of this pain can come from damaged muscles and tissues; other pain can accompany other injuries, including whiplash and concussions. If you have back pain after a car accident, you may experience muscle spasms, mobility problems, and loss of balance. 

There are many ways that a chiropractor can help relieve back pain following a car accident, and you may go through several different treatments to properly reduce the pain. One of the most common treatments for back pain is spinal correction. With spinal correction, a chiropractor may shift and correct your spine, restoring mobility and eliminating pain. They may also suggest decompression to lengthen the spine. 

4. Shoulder Injuries

There are several ways that you can injure your shoulder following a car accident. The most common forms of shoulder injuries after a car accident include soft tissue damage and broken bones. Following this injury, you may experience a limited range of motion and prolonged discomfort. 

If you have recently been in an accident and are looking for help to alleviate shoulder pain following your injury, a chiropractor can help you in several ways. They will likely begin by realigning the spine. Once that has been done and you’ve regained more range of motion, they may teach you several exercises to lengthen and strengthen the muscles in your shoulders to reduce the chance of future injuries. 

5. Herniated Discs

Located between the bones of your spine are soft, rubbery discs that act as a shock absorber and allow for mobility. However, when the disc pushes through the cracks, you experience a herniated disc. After a car accident, you may experience a herniated disc that pinches your nerves, making mobility difficult. You may also experience numbness or tingling in your extremities, muscle weakness, and numbness. 

The treatment of back injuries, including herniated discs, is the most common therapy provided by chiropractors. To treat a herniated disc, a chiropractor may perform a variation of services. These treatments include spinal corrections and decompressions, laser therapies, vibration plate therapy, and spinal traction therapy. These treatments should help you improve your spine’s health and reduce any inflammation you have experienced. 

See A Chiropractor At Elite Chiropractic After A Car Accident

After a car accident, it is important that you do all you can to relieve discomfort. By going to a chiropractor, you can treat this pain and find ways to strengthen your muscles to prevent future injuries. Our team at Elite Chiropractic is confident that we can help you recover from any injuries you have experienced quickly. If you are interested in scheduling an appointment after a car accident or would like to speak to a member of our team, call our Wenatchee, WA office today.