When someone is in pain, they want to get relief fast. Sometimes relief doesn't occur as quickly as people would like, or sometimes not at all. Many times when people are involved in a auto accident, their first choice is to go to a medical doctor. Logical, yes, you never know if you have a broken bone or a brain bleed after an car accident. Typically people don't suffer these injuries, rather they suffer from what the medicolegal system calls a "soft tissue injury". This rhetoric has permeated the profession for decades and does not help the patient. It can advance in two different scenarios, 1) the patient does have an undiagnosed condition that is incorrectly diagnosed as a soft tissue injury or, 2) the injury is only softy tissue and a doctor keeps investigating to try to find a more serious condition. In the latter, there may be unnecessary tests performed or worse, an unnecessary surgical procedure. There should be a step-wise order when getting treated after a auto accident. First, you should go to a trauma trained chiropractor. Why? Because trauma trained chiropractors will triage your case and let you know if you need imaging, pain management or surgical consultation. Your trauma trained chiropractor will also have a background in accident reconstruction, spinal trauma pathology, spinal biomechanical engineering, impairment rating and MRI interpretation. Does the chiropractor you go to for your accident have this ? You can see my credentials here: US Chiropractic Directory - US Chiropractic Directory (uschirodirectory.com).
After you go to the trauma trained chiropractor, if you need a referral to a medical specialist or advanced imaging or diagnostic procedures, recommendations will be made. Quarterbacking the situation will allow the patient to get the proper treatment without unnecessary interventions. If you have been in a auto accident and are experiencing neck pain, whiplash, headaches, low back pain, shoulder pain, spinal stenosis, concussion, numbness and tingling in the arms or legs and live in the Chicagoland area like Elmhurst, Northlake, Melrose Park, Berkeley, Bensenville, Oak Brook, Villa Park, Lombard or Stone Park, contact us 24/7 at 800-862-5914.
