So, I get many car accident victims that come in after an accident with either a pain killer, muscle relaxant, or both for their symptoms. Rarely do they help. But here are a few simple things you can do to get yourself better.
1) always ice. Putting heat on an area after an accident feels good but it is actually detrimental. Heat will inflame an acutely injured area. Remember, ice can give you a burn if you put it directly on your skin. You need to take a cold, damp cloth between the ice and your skin. 15 minutes on per hour/45 minutes off, as much as you can.
2) for low back pain after an accident, laying on your stomach while sleeping is not good. In fact, it is never good even when you haven't been in an accident. Instead, sleep on your side with a pillow placed in between your legs. This takes stress off the hips and low back.
3) Move ! yes, I know it may be uncomfortable after an accident but people that sit around after an accident will develop abnormal healing patterns including deposition of scar tissue in the muscles, joints and ligaments. Try your best to either walk around. You can think of this as an active rest period-you're not going all out with exercising because of your pain, but you are moving enough to get your heart rate up, muscles moving to break up scar tissue formation.
4) Contact an trauma trained chiropractor ASAP. You can find one here: US Chiropractic Directory - US Chiropractic Directory (uschirodirectory.com)
The reason? Getting treated sooner, rather than later can facilitate healing faster than sitting it out and waiting for it to get better on it's own. Check out my previous blogs about what happens when your body heals itself-incorrectly.
If you experienced neck pain, headaches, whiplash, low back pain, spinal stenosis, shoulder pain and have been in a recent, or old accident and are now experiencing pain you need to contact us.
If you are in the Chicago area including, Elmhurst, Melrose Park, Berkeley, Stone Park, Lombard, Villa Park, Bensenville, Oak Brook, Northlake and Maywood, call Auto Accident Pain Relief Center of Illinois at 800-862-5914 24/7.
