Why You Might Need Physical Rehabilitation after a Car Accident

Physical rehabilitation to regain your flexibility and alleviate pain. The need for physical rehabilitation may seem obvious when you have sustained a severe wound that requires surgery or other medical treatment, but what do you do when you present no apparent physical injury but you continue to experience pain in different areas of your body?

The effects of minor auto injury and whiplash are initially bearable and the pain is not severe enough to be hospitalized. Many people do not even consider seeking professional help in case of such injuries. The question is: do you really need physical rehabilitation at this point? Yes, you do, and it is a big mistake not to inquire about professional help and allow the pain to become chronic. There are people who continue to suffer from pain or dysfunction years after a so called minor accident injury. There are others who face new symptoms in addition to local pain, such as headaches, numbness, difficulty focusing, dizziness, or vision problems.

Physical therapy or physical rehabilitation has the role to repair and strengthen the damaged tissue. The problem with the so called minor injuries is that the damaged tissue is not exactly evident since it is underneath the skin. When damaged tissue remains untreated for many months or years, scars start forming. These scars are the major cause of chronic pain and dysfunction following car accident injury. Physical therapy will not only restore normal health and function of the affected tissue or body part, but will also prevent scar growth while considerably reducing pain.

Many times those who are involved in a car accident and suffer from minor injuries are quickly dismissed by doctors and those around them. They are quickly treated with OTC painkillers and sometimes given a neck brace. The patient may not even feel the actual pain at the time of the accident given the adrenaline that floods the body in such highly emotional situations. Therefore, they may start feeling pain a day after the accident and in places where they didn’t even think they were hurt. Painkillers will only reduce the pain and perhaps the swelling, but they will not heal the wound or damaged tissue underneath it.

Physical rehabilitation is not an overnight process that leaves you moving painlessly after a single session. Connective tissues, which endure the most serious impact of a minor injury, as well as muscles, are quite slow when it comes to healing. Of course, the sooner you start your rehabilitation, the quicker you will see results, such as reduced pain, increased mobility, and diminished swelling. Failure to receive proper treatment after a car accident is very likely to result in long term health issues.

Physical rehabilitation is more than simply repairing the muscles and joints affected in the injury. In addition, it is about restoring the balance of the neurological systems that control them. When neurological systems are fully rehabilitated, then all barriers that may stand in the way of healing are removed.  For those who have just suffered a car accident, as well as for those who continue to experience pain and other symptoms although it’s been years since their accident, physical rehabilitation is the only way to regain their right to move without pain. Contact a physical rehabilitation clinic today to alleviate pain, and get you back on track!