If you asked a chiropractor or car accident attorney what the most common injury suffered in a car crash is, they will most likely tell you that the answer is soft tissue injuries. These types of injuries can range from mild to severe and. Symptoms differ with acute soft tissue injuries, and they can last from a few days to over 5 months. With chronic injuries, permanent damage for the rest of your life can occur. Injuries to soft tissue occur when sprains and strains happen in a car collision. They are usually caused by blows to the body or head and other sudden trauma.
Documenting Your Injury
Proving that you were injured in a car accident can be of great difficulty if witnesses were not present. This is common in accidents that occur at night, or in hit and run accidents. Be sure to take pictures of your car, the other driver’s car, write down where you were, what time it occurred, any witnesses that were around and how you recall the accident happening. Sign and date your testimony and if any witnesses were present, have them write a testimonial, date, and sign it as well. You should also visit a doctor, like a trusted knee pain doctor, right after the accident so that you can begin to document the extent of your injury. Written documentation from your doctor can help your claim, as well as give you better understanding of your injury as a whole. Take pictures of any medication, medical bills and blood tests that your physician gives you as well. You do not want to wait too long to visit a doctor because if you do, the opposing party’s insurer will argue that you are obviously not injured if you do not see it fit to seek medical attention immediately after an accident.
Immediate Pain Relief
If you have already made a doctor’s appointment and are waiting for the day to come, you can follow the guidelines of R.I.C.E., a soft tissue at home guide. It means resting to begin your healing process, icing your injury to help relieve and reduce inflammation and pain, applying a compress to your injury to control swelling, and elevating your injury to reduce any bleeding or pain following your accident. The period that follows immediately after a soft tissue injury occurs is the acute inflammatory stage. It is necessary to follow the R.I.C.E. steps if you cannot go to a doctor immediately. However, if no improvements are made from using these steps within two days, you should go into an urgent care clinic.
Treating Soft Tissue Injuries
Chiropractic treatment for soft tissue injuries is proven time and time again to be to be extremely beneficial. Medications do not always help with soft tissue’s healing process and actually mask signals that the affected area is trying to transmit to the brain. Regeneration of soft tissue may last from a week to six weeks after your accident. Proteins in your body build newer tissue during this time frame and pressure treatments with a chiropractor can decrease healing time significantly.
