Most of the advice you see will tell you that it’s important to seek medical care as soon as possible following a car accident, which is the right thing to do. But how long will you have to continue seeking care? Where we are used to some car accident injuries being treated quickly, with medications or a procedure, it can be shocking to hear that treatment for whiplash and other car accident-related injuries may not be the same. Many of these injuries require longer-term solutions like chiropractic care and physical therapy to achieve a full recovery. While this can be daunting, following through with a full course of physical therapy is the best thing to do for your body and your claim.
The Benefits of Physical Therapy
Physical therapy in Atlanta is not a single treatment, but instead a series of movements and exercises that are carefully planned to help your body heal, strengthen, and align over time. By restoring function and mobility, the practice promotes an accelerated recovery and leaves you with more flexibility and strength at the end. This is also done in such a way that it helps to relieve muscle, joint, ligament, tendon, and nerve pain using manual techniques, helping to avoid the side effects of pain medication taken over time.
When physical therapy is started early on, it can help prevent injuries from worsening over time and becoming chronic conditions. This can also mean that you avoid more invasive treatments like surgery in the future. For these reasons, physical therapy is a common treatment for whiplash and other soft tissue damage that may have necessitated surgery otherwise.
What Determines the Length of Physical Therapy?
Sadly, there is no single answer to how long your course of treatment will be as every person and situation is different. There are three main factors that will impact this decision, but your doctor may consider a number of other things based on their knowledge of the situation.
The severity of your accident will be a large piece of consideration when designing your physical therapy. When your car is moving, it has a lot of momentum built up, which is transferred to your body on impact. This causes your body to move suddenly and in ways that aren’t natural for your tendons, ligaments, and muscles. A slower, less serious car accident transfers less of that energy to your body, which typically means less severe injuries and a shorter course of treatment. A high-speed crash will transfer more energy to your body and typically result in longer physical therapy plans.
The type of injury you sustain will also contribute to this decision. Treatment for whiplash can take up to three months, while a fracture often heals within eight weeks depending on the site. Based on the type of injury, your doctor should be able to give you an estimate of typical physical therapy time frames.
Your doctor will also want to understand your history of previous accidents and medical conditions as this can impact your treatment. Injuries often leave behind scar tissue which can impede your body’s ability to heal. If these injuries were untreated, this is likely to be an even bigger issue.
Don’t Leave Gaps in Your Care
While following through on your prescribed physical therapy is the best thing to do for your body, it’s also a big help to your insurance claims. Showing that you took a proactive approach to your health not only proves that you were concerned in the aftermath of the accident, but allows you to have documentation of your injuries early on. Continuing to attend physical therapy sessions further proves your commitment to your health and gives you more medical records to reference.
In many cases, seeking out physical therapy can be helpful even if you are not yet experiencing any pain or symptoms. Many common injuries do not appear for hours or even days after an accident, but waiting too long can lead to the injury worsening and a lack of credibility in your legal proceedings. You should always seek care after an accident, even if you feel okay, to protect yourself and ensure better compensation.
At AICA Tucker, we are experts in caring for car accident victims. Our physical therapists work with neurologists, orthopedists, and chiropractors to determine the treatment plan that is right for you. Because of our expertise, AICA Tucker is also skilled at completing medical records thoroughly so that you have all the information needed when the time comes. If you have recently been in an accident, contact one of our Atlanta locations today to begin your physical therapy plan!