Here are some things to know if you’ve been in an auto accident:
1) The health effects of an accident may not be known immediately. The shock, stress, and confusion of an accident automatically mean that those involved are distracted from pain. Additionally, the body will produce endorphins, hormones that act as natural painkillers, during such stressful situations. These factors and others mean that symptoms of injury can take weeks or even months to present themselves.
2) Emergency staff and medical doctors can overlook potential problems. Getting “checked out” at the time of the incident doesn’t necessarily mean that all potential problems are looked at. The force of an accident can cause the body to fall out of alignment in painful ways – ways that cannot be fully detected by x-rays alone – not to mention causing soft tissue damage. Chiropractic care specializes in finding and correcting these sorts of problems.
3) Even minor accidents can lead to serious damage. Many factors are at work during an accident: the position of the body before and during the accident, speed, conditions existing before the incident, and more. Even though you might feel that an incident was “nothing”, it’s worth getting checked out to make sure that no new injuries occurred or old injuries were worsened.
If any of the following symptoms present themselves following an auto accident, contact our office immediately for an appointment.
- Blurred vision
- Concussion
- Difficulty swallowing
- Disorientation
- Dizziness
- Fatigue
- Headache
- Knee Pain
- Lower back pain and/or stiffness
- Muscle stiffness
- Nausea
- Neck pain and/or stiffness
- Numbness and tingling
- Pain between the shoulder blades
- Pain in the arms or legs, feet and hands
- Pain in the jaw or face
- Ringing in the ears
- Shoulder pain
- Trouble sleeping
- Vertigo
- Whiplash
