About three million people in the United States sustain non-fatal injuries in motor vehicle crashes every year, according to the CDC. The severity of the injury can vary significantly from minor scrapes and bruises to more serious problems such as whiplash, broken bones, herniated discs, and damage to internal organs. To make matters worse, many people are unable to feel the muscle or joint pain immediately because they are in a state of shock after the accident.
Regardless of the severity of the injury, the pain can interfere with your daily activities and lower your quality of life over time. It’s tempting to brush aside the pain as temporary, but that will likely make matters worse.
If you’re experiencing musculoskeletal pain after an auto accident, you should visit your primary care doctor or an orthopedist to determine whether you need physical therapy.
Some of the benefits you’ll get from working with a physical therapy specialist include:
Pain relief
Physical therapists relieve muscle, ligament, joint, tendon and nerve pain using various techniques such as hands-on therapy, therapeutic exercise, and modalities such as transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS).
Accelerated recovery
During physical therapy, it’s normal to feel sore after a session because your body—and specifically, your muscles—are being stressed in a good way. The resistance allows muscles to become stronger, which leads to quicker healing. As the physical therapist helps restore function and mobility, you will experience better strength, flexibility, and range of motion.
Decreased need for pain medications
Physical therapy is an excellent solution for long-term pain management. You might find that physical therapy helps reduce the need for pain medication or shortens the time you need painkillers.
Prevent chronic symptoms
Without adequate rehabilitation, injury symptoms can worsen over time or at least linger for several months. Auto accident victims that don’t receive therapy are also more likely to develop complications, such as degenerative disc disease, later on.
Avoid or delay surgery
Depending on the severity of the injury, physical therapy can help you heal to the extent that surgery might not be needed. In some cases, orthopedic surgeons are able to use a less invasive approach because of physical therapy. When combined with surgical operations, physical therapy is an essential component of comprehensive auto accident rehab.
Visit our Physical Therapy Clinic in Thomson, GA
A holistic treatment plan is the best way to ensure healing after an injury caused by motor vehicle crashes. Healing Hands specializes in physical therapy treatment for auto accident injuries and can help design a custom treatment plan for you too.
Request an appointment with our specialists today.