You're in your car, relaxed, waiting at a stop light. Suddenly you hear a screeching of tires behind you and the harsh sound of metal hitting metal. In the split second before you can brace yourself, you feel your car moving forward from some unseen force! You've been rear-ended. What happens in these few seconds can have tragic consequences. And what you do about it in the next hours, days and weeks can forever affect your health.
Upon impact, your body pushes deeply into your seat. your head, momentarily isolated by your neck, delays its reaction while your body quickly reaches the limits of your seat. Unrestrained by a seat belt your head is jerked back and then forward beyond its normal limits. This all happens in the blink of an eye and has long lasting effects.
Don't minimize your own injuries because your car has sustained little or no damage. An immediate chiropractic examination is essential. Pain medicine won't heal inflamed tendons and ligaments. Muscle relaxers won't heal torn muscles. Only specific chiropractic treatment can help restore proper motion of position to help insure proper healing.
Patients often ask the common questions after an accident:
Why do I have pain in my arms and hands?
Because the nerves to the arms and hands exit the spine through the injured area of the neck, numbness and tingling are common.
Why did my headache start more than a week after my accident?
Whether you've been in an accident, stressed at work or overexerted yourself in the garden, your body is constantly adapting to the environment. When ones capacity to adapt is exhausted, symptoms can appear. this can take days, weeks, months or years to appear.
Will I ever be normal again?
Many chiropractic patients reports improved spinal curves and an end to their symptoms. Those who delay seeking appropriate care often discover that scar tissue and spinal instability require periodic checkups.
If you or anyone you know have had the misfortune to be involved in an automobile accident, please come in or send them to Snyder Chiropractic & Acupuncture for an immediate evaluation. Don't be mislead by the damage to your car. People react much differently than glass, plastic and metal.
