One of the common conditions we see at Innovative Chiropractic are injuries associated with a car accident. In fact, car accident treatment is one of our specialties. To recover fully from a car wreck, you need to make sure you follow a few simple tips.

Never Assume You’re OK

For many car accident victims, the pain doesn’t start until one or even two days after the accident. You might assume you’re fine, but two days later your neck and back can become stiff and painful. Sometimes this is because during the accident your body produces endorphins – natural pain-killing hormones that work similar to morphine. With the endorphins and the adrenaline pumping through you, your body isn’t able to truly tell you how it feels. With that in mind, don’t wait for pain before having yourself checked out by a doctor.

If you wait too long to have a medical exam, it could also affect any possible personal injury compensation you may be due in the future. Insurers assume that anybody who is seriously injured in a car accident would seek medical help immediately. To keep your options open, and to catch anything you might otherwise miss, it’s best to let a doctor or other qualified medical professional examine you as soon as possible.

Get Medical Care Immediately

It can take hours, days or even a week for injuries or serious discomfort to appear with a car accident victim. With that in mind, whenever you feel symptoms of injury after a car accident such as dizziness, pain, numbness, or just not feeling like yourself, get medical care. Never assume that your injuries will clear up on their own. Delay in receiving medical attention could result in years of pain and suffering. For the sake of your own health and safety, get checked out.

Complete the Full Course of Car Accident Treatment

If you’ve been in a car accident and your doctor or chiropractor diagnoses and injury and begins treatment, it’s vitally important that you follow and complete the full course of treatment. Do exactly as your doctor or chiropractor says until you are told you can stop.

The two main reasons why it is important that you follow through with your treatment are:

1. Your medical practitioner is in the best position to determine how seriously injured you are, and to prescribe the best treatment for you. Doctor knows best!
2. The records of your visits are the best way to verify and document the nature and extent of your injuries, as well as the course and duration of your treatment. This proof is essential if you later make an injury claim.

Review your Treatment Records

If you make an injury claim with an insurer, the defense will always try to find a loophole (such as a pre-existing condition) in your medical records that they can point to as the “real” cause of your current symptoms. Get copies of your medical records to make sure the accident details are correct and that your symptoms are accurately stated.

Innovative Chiropractic Rehab & Massage can be there with you every step of the way through your car accident treatment. If you have any questions or would like more information, please call or come in and see us at our office in Mill Creek between 132nd Street SE & Bothell Everett Hwy, just across from Fred Meyer.