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If you recently suffered an auto accident, you can benefit from the help of a Physical Therapist.

Even if you feel fine after the car crash or only have minor bumps and bruises, you still may have some injuries that could show up days or even weeks later.

Like any traumatic injury, a car accident can spike your adrenaline levels, leading to a numbing effect on pain and discomfort during and shortly after the accident.

However, when everything has settled after the accident, you may start to feel some discomfort, soreness, pain, and other symptoms. Inflammation typically builds and peaks over the first 5-7 days causing a delayed onset of symptoms over the first week following your collision.  

Fortunately, Physical therapy is a non-invasive treatment option for these injuries.  

The article below will talk about how a physical therapist can help after an auto accident:

Physical Therapy Care After Car Accidents:

Everyone should seek medical attention after a car accident, especially if they are experiencing symptoms.

If you avoid going to the doctor, you could end up with chronic pain and other long-term issues.

However, if you go to your primary care physician for medical treatment, you may only leave with a handful of prescriptions and not much else in terms of a treatment plan. Oftentimes, primary care physicians will not see a patient after an auto accident due to the complicated payor sources.  

Physical therapy can treat the underlying cause of backaches, neck pain, stiffness, soreness, and restricted range of motion after a car crash.

Your physical therapist will identify why these symptoms arise instead of just numbing them through medication.

Here are a few specific ways your physical therapist will help.

1. Reduced reliance on medication:

Physical therapy can assist naturally in reducing inflammation, which is a primary source of pain after an accident.

Many people these days have a natural aversion to taking pain medications because they worry about becoming dependent or addicted.

Physical therapists can work in conjunction with your medical doctor to assist in reducing inflammation, pain and spasms associated with your auto accident.

2. Reduces Pain:

Even in a minor accident like a fender bender, your body gets jerked around, causing damage to your muscles and other soft tissues.

This phenomenon is why painful soft tissue injuries are so common in car accidents, resulting in neck pain, back pain, shoulder pain, and more.

You may also suffer from severe tension headaches. Severe pain from any of these injuries can negatively impact your quality of life.

Thankfully, a physical therapist can help you reduce your pain and help reduce your reliance on medication.

Your physical therapist will check the alignment of your spine. They will also assess the tension in the muscles that run the length of your spine.

Once your physical therapist completes a full examination, they will design a treatment plan to reduce your pain, improve your spinal alignment and reduce the tension in your muscles.

3. Reduces Inflammation:

Inflammation in back and neck muscles frequently occurs after an accident.

Some inflammation is normal and indicates your body’s attempt to heal itself.

However, too much can be harmful to your tissues and cause discomfort.

When a physical therapist mobilizes your spine to realign certain joints, it can lower the inflammatory response in your body and reduce pain.

Symptoms of excessive inflammation in the spine include stiffness and pain that increase after inactivity periods.  

If you have back pain due to inflammation, you will likely feel the most pain when you first wake in the morning or with repetitive bending and twisting. 

4. Restores Normal Range of Motion:

Accident injury victims typically have to deal with stiffness in the back and neck after an accident.

Stiffness often happens due to misaligned joints in the spine, scar tissue development, and inflammation.

Physical Therapists can perform mobilizations on all joints (including your spine) to assist in reducing pain, spasms and inflammation.  

These mobilizations of joints or soft tissue can reduce pain, restore full mobility and return the body to its pre-accident state.