Car Accident
A car accident can cause several adverse effects on its victims. Typically, you may experience financial loss, minor or severe injuries, and psychological strain. In most cases, the former results from property damage, medical expenses, and the cost of hiring a civil litigation lawyer for your case. You can usually come back from financial loss with an attorney or through insurance. However, healing from a car accident injury or psychological strain is personal. Being fully committed to recovery helps you return to a healthy state.
In most instances, medical or surgical treatment may be insufficient for complete healing after a crash. Therefore, your doctor may recommend various types of therapy to accompany your current treatment. This way, you can significantly raise the likelihood of a quicker and complete recovery.
That said, you must work with an expert to fully benefit from the type of therapy recommended by your healthcare provider. You can find a good facility in your local area or conduct online research to identify an excellent center. If you prefer the latter, consider helpful sites that offer detailed information about a facility’s services.
Below are three types of therapy that most doctors recommend for auto accident victims:
Physical Therapy
A healthcare provider will recommend physical therapy to victims who’ve suffered broken bones and spinal cord, neck, nerve, back, and traumatic brain injury.
This therapy focuses on helping patients enhance their range of motion, recover function and strength, and boost flexibility. Your doctor should tell you when to begin your physical therapy sessions. If they do, start as recommended. Delaying can raise the likelihood of long-term health complications. Also, you may take longer to recover fully.
There are several types of physical therapy treatments. These include:
- Neurological Physical Therapy
Neurological physical therapy aims to help car accident victims with spinal cord issues, traumatic brain injuries, and neurological conditions. This treatment focuses on restoring or assisting a patient in adjusting to balance, vision, mobility, coordination, strength, and cognition changes.
Many individuals who require specialized neurological therapy may face challenges in receiving the appropriate treatment and care they need. This is where a Sandy Springs Law Firm can step in to provide invaluable legal guidance and support.
- Orthopedic Physical Therapy
Orthopedic physical therapy helps auto accident victims recover from musculoskeletal injuries to the bones, tendons, joints, ligaments, and muscles. A healthcare provider may recommend this treatment to patients who’ve undergone orthopedic surgery or those with sprains, tendinitis, and fractures. Usually, this therapy involves joint mobilization, electrical stimulation, stretching, and strength and mobility training.
- Geriatric Physical Therapy
Doctors encourage geriatric physical therapy for victims who are older adults with arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, balance problems, and other issues linked to aging. It aims to restore mobility, reduce pain, and enhance physical function after an accident.
- Pediatric Physical Therapy
Pediatric physical therapy is for collision victims who are young children or infants. This treatment helps patients with orthopedic issues, head trauma, and muscle and acute injuries. This therapy aims to reduce pain, enhance mobility, and restore bodily function.
As seen, the type of physical therapy recommended to you will depend on your age, medical history, and the kind and severity of your injuries after a car crash. Therefore, following your doctor’s instructions is best for proper and complete healing. Also, work with a well-trained therapist regardless of the treatment recommended for the best results.
Chiropractic Therapy
A healthcare provider may also encourage chiropractic therapy after a collision. It involves an expert using special tools or hands to manipulate and realign the joints and spine. A doctor may advise a car accident patient to get this therapy because it focuses on treating pain caused by a herniated disc, whiplash, facet joint injuries, bone fractures, and damaged ligaments, muscles, and nerves.
Chiropractic therapy helps collision victims by reducing inflammation. One will likely experience this side effect after a crash because the impact can cause micro-tears in the muscles and ligaments. Usually, the damaged cells will produce chemicals like histamine and others that make blood vessels release fluid into the tissues. It causes swelling. Chiropractic adjustments help the body create an anti-inflammatory agent that lessens internal swelling, encouraging healing.
Chiropractic therapy can also help to reduce pain. After a collision, inflammation in your neck or back can be discomforting and could make it hard for you to move. Spinal or joint misalignments and the developed scar tissue resulting from the crash may also cause pain. Chiropractic manipulations can assist in alleviating discomforts by reducing inflammation, as mentioned earlier. The therapy can also reduce pain by restoring proper joint and spine alignment.
Psychological Therapy
A car crash can cause psychological issues like depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and anxiety. These effects can be due to the event, the injuries you may face, or a permanent disability caused by the crash.
Your doctor may recommend psychological therapy if you’re experiencing mental or emotional strain after a collision. This treatment primarily involves personal interactions with an expert. The main aim is to assist you in mitigating or resolving troublesome emotions, beliefs, thoughts, and memories resulting from what happened, your injuries, or a disability from the crash.
Generally, psychological therapy can help by enabling you to restore your emotional and mental well-being. Your therapist may also provide other ways to enhance your psychological health, like ensuring quality sleep, meditating, exercising, eating well, and connecting with people.
Final Thoughts
Car accidents can cause financial loss, injuries, and emotional and mental strain. In this article, you’ve learned that medical or surgical treatment only may not be enough for fast and complete healing. As seen, your doctor may also encourage physical, chiropractic, or psychological therapy to help you recover. In most cases, the healthcare professional will recommend a specific treatment depending on your age, medical history, and the type and severity of your injuries.
