Common Motor Vehicle Accident Injuries & How a Physiotherapist Can Help
After a car accident, you can suffer from a wide range of injuries to various parts of your body. The good news is you can receive relief for many of these injuries by visiting a Physiotherapist. Your Physiotherapist will provide holistic, non-invasive treatment to get you back to feeling your best. Although many different injuries can occur after a motor vehicle accident, some injuries are more common than others. Due to the musculoskeletal nature of the following injuries, Physiotherapy care is often the next best step toward recovery.
Neck Injuries
One of the most common car accident injuries is whiplash, when the head suddenly jars backward, forward or to the side. Whiplash may cause a destabilized spine as well as severe neck pain. In many cases, whiplash symptoms don’t appear right away. And, even with treatment, it can take some time to recover. Without Physiotherapy treatment, whiplash injuries can lead to a chronic, lifelong issue.
How a Physiotherapist Can Help
After a thorough examination, your Physiotherapist will determine the proper course of treatment. Manual hands on treatment, traction, rehab exercises and dry needling are just some of the tools your Physiotherapist may use. Physiotherapists will often treat whiplash by performing full spinal treatment and not just the painful area. This means your Physiotherapist will apply gentle force to the spinal joints to improve the alignment and mobility of your spine.
Lower Back Injuries
The bones, muscles and nerves in your lower back can suffer damage after a car accident. Depending on the severity of the injury, symptoms may take some time to appear or they may be present right away. If left untreated, lower back pain after a car accident will worsen over time.
How a Physiotherapist Can Help
Physiotherapists begin treatment for lower back injuries by performing spinal mobilisations. They may also suggest core-strengthening exercises, heat and other therapies depending on your unique pain.
Shoulder Injuries
A shoulder injury may result after a collision, especially depending upon the placement of your arm at the moment of impact. Forces during the accident to your glenohumeral joint may cause injuries to your rotator cuff and the muscles and bones that make up your shoulder girdle. Due to these injuries, you may experience pain upon movement or even when sitting still.
How a Physiotherapist Can Help
When dealing with your shoulder girdle, a Physiotherapist may perform gentle mobilization movements, rehab exercises and dry needling to speed up your healing time.
Headaches
Your joints, muscles, nerves, ligaments and tendons can all cause head pain due to injury. This means headaches are very common after a car accident. After all, your brain wasn’t meant to jar back and forth violently. The pain may be moderate to severe and include pain in various areas of the head and neck.
How a Physiotherapist Can Help
Your Physiotherapist may perform regular mobilisation techniques such as rehab exercises, traction, electrical stimulation, myofascial release and dry needling.
Arm Injuries
During a car accident, the bones in your arm—including your humerus, ulna and radius—can break or become impacted, contused or swollen. This results in pain, immobility and other symptoms.
How a Physiotherapist Can Help
A Physiotherapist who specializes in car accident injuries can help reduce pain in your elbow, hand and shoulder joints. They can also prescribe ice pack therapy, rehabilitative exercises or other remedies to reduce pain while you heal.
Hurt in a Car Accident? Reach Out to Physiotherapy Professionals Parramatta Today.
After a motor vehicle accident, the best next step is to visit a Physiotherapist with experience treating car accidents. We offer a wide range of techniques, including manual treatment, traction, electrical stimulation and dry needling. We’ll determine your proper course of treatment after a thorough examination.
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Physiotherapy After A Car Accident