If you’re wondering how long to see a chiropractor after a car accident, the short answer is: as long as you want! When it comes to chiropractic care, many who initially begin treatment with a chiropractor for a specific injury, like one resulting from a car accident, end up continuing chiropractic treatments long after the initial symptoms have dissipated and the injury is resolved.
Unlike visiting an urgent care doctor, who treats your presenting symptoms once and sends you on your way, a College Park chiropractor works with those who are suffering from specific injuries and also those who want to maintain a healthy spine and lifestyle. When looking for a car accident doctor in College Park, you can expect continued care and support from your initial visit through recovery and beyond.
Why Seek Chiropractic Care After a Car Accident
Car accidents can cause a wide range of injuries, some obvious and others hidden beneath the surface. While emergency rooms and urgent care centers play a critical role immediately after a crash, many car accident-related injuries develop gradually or go unnoticed without thorough evaluation. Hidden injuries can come with delayed symptoms that don’t appear for hours or even days after the wreck. Chiropractic care offers a unique, whole-body approach to uncovering and treating these often-overlooked issues. Understanding why and when to seek chiropractic treatment can make a significant difference in your recovery and long-term health.
The Overlooked Step in Recovery
After a car accident, your first instinct might be to head to the emergency room, and that’s a smart move for addressing any immediate or life-threatening concerns. But what happens after the adrenaline fades away and you’re left with lingering pain, stiffness, or limited mobility? That’s where chiropractic care comes in. Car accident chiropractors are uniquely qualified to diagnose and treat many of the most common injuries caused by auto accidents, especially those affecting the spine, joints, muscles, and nervous system.
A Natural, Non-Invasive Approach to Healing
Unlike traditional medical care that often relies on prescription medications or invasive procedures, chiropractic treatment is all-natural and non-invasive. It’s designed to support your body’s natural healing processes. Emergency doctors typically focus on immediate threats like fractures, head trauma, or internal injuries and may not always detect musculoskeletal issues like whiplash, soft tissue damage, or subtle spinal misalignments that emerge hours or even days later. Car accident chiropractors, on the other hand, are trained to identify these hidden injuries and begin treatment early, helping you avoid chronic pain and long-term complications.
Beyond the Spine: Whole-Body Chiropractic Care
A common misconception is that chiropractors only work on the spine. While the spinal column is a central focus, chiropractic care actually looks at how misalignments and dysfunctions in the spine can affect the entire body. Your spine protects your central nervous system and is the communication network that connects your brain to every organ, muscle, and limb. When the spine is misaligned due to trauma, it can interfere with nerve signals, which can lead to pain, weakness, stiffness, or even symptoms like headaches and dizziness.
By performing precise, gentle spinal adjustments, chiropractors restore alignment, reduce pressure on affected nerves, and help your nervous system function more efficiently. This often leads to faster recovery, reduced inflammation, and improved mobility without the side effects that often come with medications.
When to See a Chiropractor After a Car Accident
You don’t have to be in excruciating pain to benefit from chiropractic care. In fact, many people don’t feel significant discomfort until days after the crash, when soft tissue inflammation or joint misalignment starts to set in. If you’re experiencing soreness, limited range of motion, headaches, or even just a sense that your body feels “off,” a car accident chiropractor can help. Whether you’re dealing with back pain or neck stiffness or simply want to ensure that nothing has been overlooked, chiropractic care provides a comprehensive and proactive way to recover.
What Types of Car Accident Injuries Chiropractors Treat
Whiplash
Whiplash is one of the most common injuries people experience after a car accident, especially with rear-end collisions. It occurs when the force of impact causes the head and neck to snap rapidly forward and backward, similar to the cracking of a whip, hence the name! This motion can strain or tear the soft tissues like muscles, ligaments, and tendons in the neck and upper back and can also cause misalignment in the vertebrae of your neck.
Signs and Symptoms:
- Neck pain and stiffness
- Headaches at the base of the skull
- Dizziness or blurred vision
- Difficulty turning your head
- Fatigue or irritability
Chiropractic Treatment for Whiplash
A chiropractor can gently realign the vertebrae, reduce inflammation, and restore mobility to the neck. Treatment often includes spinal adjustments, soft tissue therapy, and corrective exercises to support whiplash healing and prevent long-term complications.
Back Pain
Back pain after a car accident can result from strained muscles, ligament damage, herniated discs, or vertebral misalignments. Even low-speed car accidents can cause enough force to disrupt the spine’s natural alignment or damage the soft tissues supporting it.
Signs and Symptoms:
- Persistent or sharp lower or upper back pain
- Stiffness and reduced range of motion
- Muscle spasms
- Pain that gets worse with movement or prolonged sitting
Chiropractic Treatment for Back Pain
Chiropractors use targeted spinal adjustments to improve alignment, reduce nerve irritation, and relieve pain. Techniques like spinal decompression, therapeutic massage, and rehabilitative stretches can also be included in the treatment plan to help restore mobility and function.
Neck Pain
Not all neck pain after a car crash is due to whiplash. Sometimes, neck pain can also show up because of muscle tension, spinal misalignment, or even nerve impingement. Neck pain that lasts for a long time can affect your sleep, daily activities, and overall quality of life.
Signs and Symptoms:
- Achy or sharp pain in the neck
- Tension or knots in the shoulders and upper back
- Limited neck movement
- Headaches or jaw pain
Chiropractic Treatment for Neck Pain
Chiropractic care focuses on restoring proper alignment of the cervical spine, which will help reduce inflammation and ease muscle tension in the area. Manual chiropractic adjustments, stretching, and myofascial release are often part of a comprehensive care plan.
Herniated Disc
A herniated disc, also known as a slipped or ruptured disc, occurs when the soft inner gel of a spinal disc bulges out through a tear in the outer layer. This often results from the intense pressure a car accident places on the spine.
Signs and Symptoms:
- Intense, localized back or neck pain
- Radiating pain down the arms or legs (sciatica)
- Numbness or tingling in the extremities
- Muscle weakness
Chiropractic Treatment for a Herniated Disc
Chiropractors perform thorough evaluations to determine if they are dealing with a spinal disc issue. Treatment may involve gentle spinal adjustments, traction, or spinal decompression therapy to relieve pressure on the affected disc and nerves. Chiropractors also provide at-home stretches and posture tips to support your healing.
Concussion
A car accident can lead to a concussion if you bump your head on part of the vehicle or with a particularly violent case of whiplash. Many people with mild traumatic brain injuries experience musculoskeletal symptoms that benefit from chiropractic care, which is also true when neck injuries or spine misalignments accompany a concussion.
Signs and Symptoms:
- Neck and upper back pain
- Persistent headaches
- Balance or coordination issues
- Sensitivity to light or noise
Chiropractic Treatment for a Concussion
By addressing spinal misalignments and tension in the upper back and neck, chiropractic care can help reduce the strain on the nervous system and alleviate many of the physical symptoms associated with concussions.
Joint Dislocations and Misalignments
The force of a collision can push joints out of their natural alignment, even without causing a full dislocation. Shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, and knees are all vulnerable in a crash.
Signs and Symptoms:
- Joint pain or visible displacement
- Swelling and inflammation
- Difficulty moving the joint normally
- A feeling of instability or looseness
Chiropractic Treatment for Joint Dislocations and Misalignments
Chiropractors can assess for joint misalignment and use safe, gentle techniques to guide the joint back into place. Treatment may include adjustments, soft tissue therapy, and joint mobilization exercises to support recovery and prevent future dislocations.
Soft Tissue Injuries
Injuries to ligaments are known as sprains, while strains are muscle or tendon injuries. Deep tissue bruising is also common after auto accidents. These soft tissue injuries may not appear on X-rays, which is why they often go undiagnosed or untreated at urgent care or ER visits.
Signs and Symptoms:
- Swelling, bruising, or tenderness
- Pain during movement
- Muscle tightness or spasms
- Reduced flexibility or range of motion
Chiropractic Treatment for Soft Tissue Injuries
Chiropractors use various non-invasive therapies such as ultrasound, electrical muscle stimulation, and therapeutic massage to reduce inflammation and promote healing. Your chiropractor can also teach rehabilitative exercises to strengthen the affected area and prevent re-injury.
When Does Chiropractic Care End?
After a car accident, each person’s injuries and recovery process are unique. When you first visit a chiropractor, you can expect a thorough assessment to understand your specific symptoms, the nature of your injuries, and your personal health goals. Based on this evaluation, your chiropractor will develop a customized treatment plan designed to address your needs and support your healing journey.
Early Signs of Improvement
Many people begin to notice positive changes within just a few visits to the chiropractor. These early improvements often include reduced pain, increased mobility, better sleep quality, and a greater sense of overall well-being. However, it’s important to recognize that while initial relief can be encouraging, true healing, especially from traumatic injuries, takes time and patience.
No One-Size-Fits-All Timeline
There is no “magic number” of chiropractic visits that guarantees complete recovery. The length of care will depend on several factors, including the severity of your injury, your general health, how well your body responds to treatment, and your commitment to following your chiropractor’s recommendations. Some patients may require only a few weeks of care to fully recover, while others with more complex or chronic injuries might continue treatment for several months. Your chiropractor will regularly evaluate your progress and can adjust your treatment plan accordingly.
Ongoing Wellness Benefits
Many people find that chiropractic care offers more than just injury relief. After recovering from their car accident injuries, patients often choose to continue periodic adjustments to maintain spinal health, improve posture, reduce the frequency of headaches, and alleviate everyday aches and pains. This ongoing care supports a healthier nervous system and contributes to an improved quality of life.
Begin Your Recovery with AICA Orthopedics
If you have been injured and are looking for a car accident doctor in College Park, call AICA College Park to schedule a free consultation and learn more about how the team of chiropractors and car accident doctors can help you.
When Does Chiropractic Care End
When you first visit a chiropractor for a specific injury, you can expect your chiropractor to discuss a treatment plan with you that is specific to your symptoms, injury, and goals for healing. While there is no magic number of chiropractic visits it takes to “fix” a car accident injury, many people tend to experience pain relief after the first few visits. It is also common for people to continue with chiropractic care after their pain and discomfort have decreased because chiropractic adjustments have made such a positive impact on their health and well-being.
If you have been injured and are looking for a car accident doctor in College Park, call AICA College Park to schedule a free consultation and learn more about how the team of chiropractors and car accident doctors can help you.