Auto Injury

Auto Injury Rehabilitation

Motor Vehicle accidents can have profound negative effects on the body both physically and mentally.  Though sometimes accidents can cause painful injuries, symptoms do not always appear immediately. The stress of the situation can sometimes mask the pain from whiplash, causing you to feel that you have not been hurt. Pain can sometimes appear hours or even days later. This is why contacting a chiropractor experienced in auto injury rehabilitation shortly after an accident is so important. Being able to diagnose and treat these types of injuries, in the first 6 weeks of recovery are the most crucial to long term recovery. Dr. Planck has worked with thousands of patients suffering from motor vehicle trauma, and regularly attends post graduate seminars to provide the best in auto injury rehabilitation.

Auto Injury Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, chiropractic care for auto injury rehabilitation is covered under your car insurance policy.  We can walk you through the steps to set up your claim and make sure you are covered.

This sometimes happens as we are all human. Often times you will have med-pay on your car insurance which will afford you the ability to get care. We can help you check to see if this is available and set up the claim. If you do not have med-pay we encourage you to talk to your car insurance carrier to add this, it is often only a few dollars a month and can provide you the ability to get care if you are at fault or if the accident is still under investigation.

We can also look into your health insurance or talk about other options that may suit you best.

The damage to your vehicle does not necessitate care, rather the injuries sustained to you, if any, will determine if you need care. Low speed accidents sometimes cause bodily harm, only an experienced health-care physician can determine these injuries and necessitate care if needed. You should always be evaluated after a car accident. If you have no injuries we will be happy to dismiss you in good health and instruct you on things to look out for if symptoms change.

It is not required to have an attorney. We do not give out legal advice, but we do have the ability to refer you out to one of the many attorneys in the Charlotte and surrounding areas who specialize in personal injury claims if we are asked to do so.

Common Motor Vehicle Injuries:

Also known as misalignments of the spine, motor vehicle accidents cause bones to shift out of alignment which leads to excess pressure and inflammation around the spine and exiting nerves (neck pain, back pain & extremity pain). These misalignments also alter function, meaning the body no longer moves the way it was meant to. We perform thorough exams to detect these issues and sometimes utilize x-rays to determine the severity of the subluxations and to rule out more severe damage. A course of care is then established, based on our exam findings, in order to properly restore our patient’s health and well-being.

Often referred to as acceleration deceleration injuries, due to the strength of the impact, the spine undergoes sprains of the ligaments and strains of the muscles (think excessive stretching). This causes minor to severe tearing of the soft tissue. Symptoms often include pain during neck and head movement, decreased range of motion, tightness and tenderness in the neck and sometimes headaches. It is important to get timely care for these injuries to restore movement and blood flow to the damaged tissue. Avoiding scar tissue to these areas is key to restoring function. We have advanced tools and machinery to help aid in muscular and ligamentous recovery.

Radicular pain is a type of pain that radiates into the extremities directly along the course of a spinal nerve root. Radicular pain is caused by compression and inflammation of the nerve root caused by subluxations or in more severe cases disc herniations. Sometimes these symptoms are not as severe, and instead patients experience numbness or tingling, in either case, inflammation of the nerves is most likely causing your symptoms. We typically see this arise form the lower back and radiating to the back of the leg, or in some cases from the base of the neck radiating down the arm. The path of the pain depends on the nerve root affected. Chiropractic adjustments and therapy help to restore motion to these injured areas while alleviating pressure cause by the accident. We also utilize different techniques some as decompression and flexion-distraction therapy to restore disc health.

Headaches after a car accident are common and some individuals who suffer from headaches before an auto accident may find their headaches have become more painful or consistent. Others will not experience a headache until a few hours or days after their accident. The most common type of headache after a car accident is a post-traumatic headache. There are multiple causes of this type of headache, but inflammation of the surrounding muscles and ligaments of the neck as well as inflamed nerve roots from the abrupt stretching of the neck can lead to headaches.  Sometimes the individuals experience post-concussive headaches, this can usually be diagnosed and may require a CT scan to determine severity and to rule out internal injury. Both types of headaches are managed well with the correct course of care and spinal rehabilitation.

Not all injuries occur in the spine. Often times the extremities such as wrist, shoulders, knees, ankles and other areas of the spine experience sprain and strains. We regularly see injuries to the knees from impacting the dashboard, doors or seat in front of you. It is also common to have hand/wrist, shoulder or ankle pain from bracing onto the steering wheel or twisting the ankle on the floor board during impact.  Just like the soft tissue injuries to the spine, these areas need a course of care to help aid in your recovery process. We regularly treat these types of issues at the same time as treating spinal complaints.

Start Your Path to Auto Injury Rehabilitation