Chiropractic care is one of the medical treatments accident victims use to treat their injuries. Apart from being non-invasive, it focuses on the body’s self-healing abilities, helping patients avoid high-risk treatments or procedures.
What Is Chiropractic Medicine?
Chiropractic treatment involves manual therapy and spinal manipulation to treat health problems related to the musculoskeletal system. It focuses on the relationship between a body’s skeleton, muscles, and nerves and its connection to a patient’s overall health.
As mentioned, it is non-invasive compared to surgical procedures. Chiropractors do not prescribe drugs as part of their treatment but follow a similar process for patient evaluation. They interview the patient and get a detailed medical history to develop a proper treatment plan. They also conduct exams and tests to establish a more accurate diagnosis.
According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, about 11 percent of adults in the United States used chiropractic care in 2022, the majority of which used it for pain management. People who seek chiropractic care often have lower back pain or neck pain. However, chiropractic care can also be used to treat injuries caused by accidents. Some chiropractors specialize in treating accident victims.
What Are The Typical Injuries Treated By Chiropractors?
Chiropractors typically treat patients with chronic conditions to help them with pain management. But chiropractors can also help with injuries caused by accidents, such as:
- Lower Back Pain – this is a common car accident injury as patients are usually seated when car accidents happen (especially when they are the ones in the vehicle). This type of injury needs to be treated immediately because the pain can affect your ability to stand up or walk.
- Neck and Shoulder Pain – this usually happens when a victim experiences whiplash. This injury should also be immediately treated because it affects your overall mobility.
- Sprains – this is also a common accident injury that affects joints. It usually happens on the knees, ankles, thumbs, or wrists.
- Knee Pain – immediate treatment of knee pain is also important as it also affects your overall mobility, such as your ability to walk and sit.
- Chest Pain – this is also common for car accident injuries, especially when the victims were wearing seatbelts, and there was a forceful impact.
- Herniated Discs – this happens when the spine is injured/ruptured. This causes neck/back pain and, in some cases, numbness in other parts of the body. However, this must be properly assessed as there could be risks depending on the situation. There are cases in which herniated discs need surgical procedures.
- Concussions – this is common in accidents as impacts usually cause head injuries.
Are Chiropractors Qualified To Treat These Injuries?
Chiropractors are health care professionals. In the United States, a chiropractor must have a Doctor of Chiropractic degree and must pass the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners exam. They also must have a state license. Some of them have specific specializations. This qualifies them to assess a patient just like any other doctor.
They won’t treat you if you are at risk. There are cases in which chiropractic adjustment will not be recommended. For instance, if you have severe osteoporosis, fracture, or cancer in your spine. This is why being honest with your medical history is important. Going through tests and examinations is also important for your chiropractor to get a better picture of how you should be treated.
What Types Of Accidents Usually Require Chiropractic Treatment?
- Car accidents – A chiropractor can treat most injuries sustained by victims. Common injuries in car accidents include whiplash, herniated disks, knee injuries, and back injuries, among others.
- Workplace accidents – Common workplace injuries are slips, trips, falls, and lifting injuries. All of these can be treated through chiropractic care.
- Slip and Fall accidents – Even though this also happens in work-related settings, these types of accidents also occur in commercial areas such as malls, parking lots, hotels, restaurants, and multifamily buildings. These accidents also usually affect the lower back, knees, ankles, and shoulders, among others. These injuries, as long as they don’t need surgeries, could also be treated by chiropractors, depending on the severity.
Many of these accidents are preventable, and someone may be liable. Back injuries are common in car accidents, workplace accidents, and slip/fall accidents. This is when you need an attorney.
Who Pays For The Chiropractor After An Accident?
It usually depends on the context of your accident, and several factors must be considered.
Personal Health Insurance
Most health insurance covers chiropractic care fully or partially. There are instances that car insurance also covers accidents, especially if you have personal injury protection (PIP), which covers an individual regardless of who’s at fault in the accident.
Car Accident Settlements
However, suppose you believe that you’ve been a victim of reckless driving. In that case, you may consult with car accident attorneys, as the settlements in these kinds of cases also cover chiropractic treatment. Having an attorney could help you negotiate with insurance companies.
Car accident lawyers could also help you prove your side of the story. It means that you have to confirm that the other party is at fault for you to get a settlement. Authorities are involved in this as they will be the ones assigning the blame to one party.
Worker’s Compensation Claim
This could also be a way to pay for chiropractic treatment if your accident happened at your workplace. However, most companies are strict when it comes to giving compensation claims. The ideal thing to do is to document everything from when you got injured. Usually, you need to consult with your primary care physician before they refer you to a chiropractor. Or they will tell you if you need one.
But just in case you were referred to a chiropractor after your injury was assessed, then you are entitled to a claim. However, if there are issues when it comes to processes, it is better to hire an attorney to help you with the negotiation.
Chiropractors have helped a lot of people manage their pain without surgical intervention or even drug prescriptions.
