Chiropractic Health & Wellness Blog

How Do I Know If I Need a Chiropractor After An Auto Accident?

Here at Lyn Lake Chiropractic, we’ve had a number of Minneapolis chiropractic patients who have been involved in some type of auto accident, ranging from minor fender benders to crashes that have resulted in major physical trauma, at some point or another in their lives. Unfortunately, this really comes as no major surprise since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that “motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of injury and death in the U.S.” 

However, the one question that is asked quite often is how to know if you need a chiropractor after being involved in an auto accident. So, let’s examine that more in-depth now.

When you’re in a car crash, sometimes it is immediately evident that something is wrong. For instance, you may notice that there is pain present in various areas of your body (such as back pain or neck pain associated with whiplash), which is a clear sign that something just isn’t right.

Or, you might begin experiencing headaches or dizziness, start to have difficulty sleeping, or are feeling just overall irritable. In these cases, even if there are no physical marks present, making the decision to seek medical treatment via chiropractic care is typically an easier one. Obviously, something is going on internally and it’s best to find out what it is so it can be treated effectively and the pain and other possible symptoms minimized.

Yet, when there is no pain present, and no other signs at all that you may be injured externally or internally, you are less inclined to get yourself checked out and assume that you’re 100% okay. While this may seem logical, the reality is that you could have actually sustained an injury in the accident and don’t even realize it.

The reason this can happen is that sometimes pain and other symptoms don’t come to the surface for days, weeks, months, or even years to come. Furthermore, not seeing a doctor because of a lack of symptoms can greatly impact your ability to overcome the injury at a later point in time as some studies have confirmed that delayed treatment can negatively affect positive outcome capabilities.

Now, some people believe that minor accidents (like the ones that don’t leave any marks on the vehicles or involve super-slow speeds) aren’t capable of creating injury that requires chiropractic treatment. But one study published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics found otherwise. 

In this case, the researcher found “a lack of relationship between occupant injury, vehicle speed and/or damage.” Specifically, even when crash speeds were as low as 2.5 miles per hour, physical injury could result. So, it doesn’t matter how minor the auto accident is, you may have an injury that needs medical attention to resolve it effectively.

In short, any time that you’re involved in a car accident, no matter how minor it may seem and how good you feel afterward, you still want to follow up with your Uptown Minneapolis chiropractors to ensure that you’re okay and that your spinal discs and vertebrae are still in their proper and healthy place. With a quick exam, Drs. Schreifels, Eckstein, and Jones will be able to tell what injury, if any, exists or if further testing needs to be conducted to make sure you weren’t hurt in any way.

We even have a 24-hour answering service which allows you to call no matter when you have an auto accident and get your appointment scheduled to come in. Remember…the sooner you get in to see us at Lyn Lake Chiropractic in Minneapolis, Minnesota after a car crash, the sooner you will start to heal and the better your chances of recovery!