Why Physical Therapy After a Car Accident?
There’s no question that a car accident is a scary and overwhelming experience. Even minor fender benders can turn your world upside down. Between the confusion over insurance, the damage to your car, and dealing with who was at fault, it’s easy to overlook any injuries. In fact, many car accident injuries go unnoticed until days after the crash due to the release of adrenaline and our heightened state of shock. That’s why it’s so important to seek medical care and receive a complete evaluation by a physical therapist after a car accident. Read on to learn more about why physical therapy is so critical after a car accident.
What is Physical Therapy?
Physical therapists are experts in the musculoskeletal system and movement. After a car accident, some of the most common types of injuries, such as neck pain, shoulder pain, back pain, and whiplash, can all be treated in physical therapy. Physical therapy includes techniques to help repair and strengthen damaged muscles or tissue, massage to improve range of motion and mobility, and electrical stimulation to target sources of pain. Overall, the objective of physical therapy is to identify the injury and treat it successfully to avoid chronic pain and further damage to the body.
Speeds Up the Recovery Process
Medical experts highly recommend going to physical therapy after a car accident. In fact, it’s recommended to go to physical therapy as soon as possible after a car accident. That’s because injuries aren’t only properly diagnosed, but the physical therapy treatment can help car accident victims heal a lot faster than if they tried to recover at home on their own. When we avoid treatment and wait for the body to heal on its own, it can lead to further injuries and chronic pain. If you want to get back to your regular daily activities quickly, seeing a physical therapist after a car accident is your best shot at a speedy recovery.
Helps Patients Avoid Surgery
A common mistake that car accident victims make is waiting too long to go to physical therapy after the crash, which amplifies the injury and eventually leads to surgery. Just because you didn’t need surgery directly after the car accident, it doesn’t mean that a car accident injury can’t lead to surgery months or years later. It’s always important to consider the long-term effects of a car accident injury and remember that physical therapy can help you avoid surgery later on in life.
Enhances Quality of Life
After a car accident, it’s common to suffer from things like insomnia, anxiety, stress, and depression. Physical therapy isn’t just about healing the body, it also provides relief and helps to improve other areas of our life. When choosing physical therapy after a car accident, you become more active, experience an improvement in your range of motion and mobility, get more restful sleep, and generally feel a lot better both mentally and physically.
If you’re avoiding going to physical therapy after a car accident due to cost, it’s important to reconsider your options. At First Choice Wellness, we understand that the cost of treatment can be a scary thought for many of our patients. Fortunately, we can help connect you with a network of car accident injury lawyers who dedicate their time to helping those who have been victims of a car accident. We can conduct a full medical examination, provide a physical therapy treatment plan, and introduce you to our team of car accident lawyers who can help you get compensated for your treatment. Contact First Choice Wellness today to learn more about why you should choose physical therapy after a car accident.