The Road to Recovery is an Adjustment

By Dr. Beth Blakely

Did you know that it can take up to seven years or more to experience pain from the damage caused by an auto accident? In auto accidents, the soft tissues are injured. Soft tissues include the joints, discs, ligaments, tendons and muscles. Soft tissues are sort of like a rubber band, which means they’ll stretch, but then over time they’ll heal in a bad position without adequate treatment. As strange as this may sound, you’re actually better off breaking a bone than damaging soft tissue. Why, because bone heals stronger after it’s broken, but soft tissues degenerate over time, creating greater and greater levels of pain.

Once these tissues begin to degenerate, they pinch against the nerves, which will be extremely painful. So that’s why people tend to get worse as they get older or if they’ve never had adequate care after an auto accident. It’s imperative that you come in for treatment as soon as you’re injured, because then we can control the healing process and get your tissues to heal in a more normal fashion, where everything is in proper alignment.

If you don’t get your vertebrae put back into their normal positions, they’re just going to heal anywhere they ended up and your body will not line back up. A competent chiropractor will put the vertebrae back where they belong and then the tissues will heal in healthy alignment.

Sadly, about 10% of our population suffers needlessly from chronic pain after an automobile accident. In far too many situations, people don’t think they are seriously injured and then six months down the road they realize they are once they start experiencing unbearable pain.

A second very good reason to be checked out immediately after an auto accident involves your bank account. Let’s face it, most insurance companies will not be eager to pay for your injury. If you waited six months before pursuing treatment, they’ll likely say, “Oh no, you did something else to your back, which doesn’t have anything to do with this auto accident.”

If you’ve been in a recent auto accident, don’t try to tough it out, especially when the aches and pains seem relatively minor. And that especially goes for all you men out there. Get the care you need and deserve as soon as possible: The health of your body and bank account depend on it!