Whether you were recently in an accident or experience ongoing pain, chiropractic therapy is a safe, affordable treatment option that can help you heal fast without medicine or surgery. Although this treatment option is popular, many people have questions about it. We have put together our most common questions from patients. Take a look at our frequently asked questions to learn if treatment from our personal injury chiropractor is right for you.
What is a Personal Injury Chiropractor?
Chiropractic medicine concerns the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system. A personal injury chiropractic specializes in manual treatments, adjustments, and manipulations to treat and alleviate auto and work-related accidents.
The main objective of an auto injury chiropractor is to restore normal function and balance in the joints and muscles. Chiropractic treatments can shorten recovery time by reducing stress on your bones, joints, and muscles.
Is Chiropractic Therapy Safe?
Personal injury chiropractors use manual bone and joint manipulation to reduce stress and promote healing on your bones, joints, muscles, and nerves. Chiropractic care is a holistic treatment option for people with head, neck, and spine ailments. It is a proven, safe therapy for pain and discomfort in your joints and extremities.
Why Should I See a Personal Injury Chiropractor?
Personal injury chiropractic treatment may be right for you if you have recurring pain in your head, neck, spine, or elsewhere. Additionally, it’s an excellent option for drug-free treatment. Personal injury chiropractors can also help document your personal injury for a lawsuit. At the end of the day, there are numerous reasons to visit a personal injury chiropractor.
What Qualifies as Personal Injury?
Personal injury involves any immediate or ongoing bodily pain, which usually manifests with discomfort, spasms, inflammation, and stiffness. Common personal injuries that require chiropractic intervention include pain in the head, neck, shoulder, spine, chest, legs, and feet.
Head
One of the most common injuries of the head is a concussion. However, a chiropractor can’t do much to treat trauma. This is due to the fact that a concussion is a bruise; the bruise needs time to heal. However, a concussion is a personal injury from a legal perspective.
In addition to concussions, chronic headaches and migraines can be personal injuries as well. Thankfully, a personal injury chiropractor can treat them. Many times, headaches and migraines due to trauma are because of bones or tendons resting on nerves. A chiropractor can help you heal from these annoying and painful conditions.
Neck
Personal injury chiropractors are highly effective when it comes to personal neck injuries. These include whiplash, immobility, and disc misalignment. Fortunately, these are all conditions a chiropractor can assist with and help prevent long-term effects.
Shoulders
Sometimes, the shoulders are the subject to trauma after a personal injury. Some personal injuries are rotator cuff tears, tendonitis, and muscle tissue damage. From a chiropractic care perspective, they can help with tears and muscle tissue damage. By moving bones and joints away from the area with the injury, they can prevent further damage and pain.
Spine
The most common area of focus for chiropractors is the spine. Additionally, this is one of the most common places where injuries occur after accidents. Some of these common injuries are herniated discs, ruptured discs, joint damage, and nerve damage. A personal injury chiropractor can help you with each of these conditions.
Chest
If you have bruising or trouble breathing, you likely have a personal injury. From a legal perspective, you may be able to get compensation. Unfortunately, a personal injury chiropractor cannot help you with these issues.
Legs, Knees, Feet
Some less common injuries with personal injuries are around the legs, knees, and feet. These include ligament damage and tears, ligament sprains, joint damage, and dislocated joints. In addition to these are muscle tears and fractures. Please note, chiropractic therapy cannot heal broken bones or fractures; it can heal and adjust muscles around the bone once it’s healed.
When Should I See a Chiropractor for Personal Injury?
Most people see a chiropractor after being in a car accident. This is to take precautions and avoid any permanent pain. You should see a chiropractor if you experience immediate or ongoing pain, aches, or discomfort in your head, neck, shoulders, chest, spine, or legs.
To prevent short term injuries from becoming long term issues, you should see a chiropractor immediately following an accident. We recommended receiving a consultation within three days of an accident. Injuries can surface weeks, months, or even years later after an accident from unnoticed injuries, like hairline fractures. Your chiropractor can devise an effective plan of action to minimize, relieve, and heal your pain.
Is a Personal Injury Chiropractor Right For Me?
Chiropractic treatment is a gentle, non-invasive therapy for pain and discomfort. When you visit a chiropractic office, rest assured you are visiting a team of licensed professionals whose only goal is to reduce and treat your pain without the need for drugs or surgery. By pairing their knowledge of human anatomy with manual adjustment techniques, your chiropractor can alleviate pain and shorten recovery time.
However, not all chiropractors are the same. Each doctor has their own methods for evaluating accident-related injuries and treatments. It’s normal to get a second opinion for your chiropractic consultations. So, if you receive an evaluation that makes you uncomfortable or your current chiropractor does not offer alternative treatment solutions, we recommend you find a chiropractor that better aligns with your needs.
Can a Personal Injury Chiropractor Prove My Injuries?
Many new patients want to know if their chiropractor can aid their insurance claims by validating their injuries. Chiropractic treatment can support your personal injury insurance claim by:
- Verifying new, worsened, or pre-existing injuries
- Increasing the value of your settlement
- Working with your insurance settlement adjuster
Your chiropractor can identify your injuries during your first consultation with a physical evaluation and X-ray. The most common injuries of car and work-related accidents are:
- Concussions
- Broken bones
- Whiplash
- Back and chest pain
- Sciatica
- Joint sprains
To make your insurance claim as strong as possible, be sure to receive a chiropractic evaluation as soon as possible after an accident.
How Much Does a Personal Injury Chiropractor Cost?
Chiropractic care is considerably more affordable compared to drug therapy, physical therapy, and surgery. Many chiropractors offer free comprehensive consultations to ensure you find a doctor that’s right for you. Your chiropractor can answer any questions regarding your accident, injuries, insurance, and treatment options.
The cost of your chiropractic care will vary depending on your insurance and settlement rewards. Your chiropractor can also help you identify services covered by insurance. You can ask your chiropractor to work with your injury attorney on a lien basis so you won’t be held responsible for paying any bills.
There’s no need to worry if you have an outstanding balance after insurance adjustments. Many chiropractic practices have flexible repayment options for patients of all income levels.
How Long is Chiropractic Treatment For An Injury?
Your length and frequency of chiropractic care will vary depending on the location, severity, and number of your injuries. Your injury chiropractor will give you an estimate for how long your body will need to heal. The goal for your first 30 days of care is to experience a 50% reduction in pain. Additionally, every time you report a 50% decrease in pain, your chiropractic treatment sessions will be cut in half.
Here is a quick guide for injury type and length of care:
- Minor muscle strains often heal within weeks.
- Muscle tears that require surgery will take a few months to heal.
- Non-surgical bone injuries heal within six to eight weeks.
- Surgically repaired bones require three to four months to heal completely.
- Injuries with disc and cartilage damage take at least three months to heal.
What Should I Expect From Personal Injury Chiropractic Treatment?
Your first visit with your chiropractor should be a straightforward consultation with an exam and, if necessary, X-rays. Your chiropractor will collect information regarding your accident and medical history to assess the severity of your injuries.
The personal injury chiropractor will want to learn about the location and duration of your pain and injury. So, during your first visit, your chiropractor will go over a specialized treatment plan based on their assessment of your injuries. Additionally, your chiropractor will include the length, cost, and adjustments particular to your case.
What Do I Need To Do Before Going to a Personal Injury Chiropractor?
Know Your Insurance
Do not accept treatment that is ineligible for the coverage your doctor deems necessary. Confirm in writing any coverage you have for chiropractic treatment.
See Your Doctor ASAP
Your doctor can help determine if out-of-coverage treatment is necessary. So, get a physical exam and collect all documentation about pre-existing injuries that may have worsened from the injury. Also, be sure to ask for a referral to a chiropractor; a doctor’s referral will add authority and urgency to your injury claim.
Gather Your Documentation
Bring all medical documents regarding your injuries so your chiropractor can help you with your treatment and settlements as efficiently as possible.
Work Within Your State’s Statute of Limitations
Being proactive will strengthen your case by demonstrating the severity of your damages and your urgency to remedy them. Contact your insurance, doctor, and chiropractor as soon as possible, even if your injuries are not felt or seen right away.
How Can I Document My Injury with a Personal Injury Chiropractor?
Fortunately, chiropractic treatment can reinforce your settlement cases. A diligent chiropractor can help prove the verity of your injuries with:
Medical Assessments
A chiropractor can prove your injuries from an accident using their reports of the location and severity of your injuries. These reports include photos, diagrams, and X-rays. Specifically, they can diagnose your injury to help you make your case.
Treatment Records
To show your injury is real and ongoing, a chiropractor can document the actions taken to ease your pain and suffering. Appointment follow-up notes can also serve as a benchmark for your recovery timeline. So, their treatment records can be very resourceful when proving a personal injury.
Billing Records
To show your treatments were necessary and reasonable, a reputable chiropractor can provide treatment descriptions, dates, billing codes, and charges. So, this is yet another benefit of working with a chiropractor. It can be very helpful to prove you have sought out treatment.
You can also prove the at-fault party’s liability by pairing your chiropractor’s reports with documentation from your primary care doctor. Some examples of proving new or worsened injuries include managing paid with prescription medication. Additionally, they can prove injuries when you need a specialist for alternative therapy for your injuries.
How Do I Find a Personal Injury Chiropractor?
Finding the right chiropractor should be a quick and easy process. But, the best way to find a good chiropractor is to call the office and speak with the doctor. Fortunately, a short phone call conversation gives you the opportunity to feel out the chiropractor’s personality and his or her general practice preferences. On the other hand, you can schedule a consultation with the chiropractor to get an even better idea of their services.
Here is a list of questions we encourage you to ask your prospective chiropractor:
- What should I expect during my consultation? A reliable chiropractor will provide you with a thorough physical examination, including a review of findings and an explanation of your treatment options.
- How long have you been in practice? Asking this question allows you to assess their general confidence and skill level. Additionally, it can test their honesty and reliability.
- What should I expect during my first session? An experienced chiropractor can help relieve some anxiety if you’ve never been adjusted before. Also, if you are nervous about being adjusted, they can help you relax.
- Can you help me prove my injuries? Your chiropractor should be able to give you a list of practices and documents. So, that way they can aid your personal injury case.
Ensure you voice all of your concerns to the chiropractor and don’t hesitate to ask him or her any questions you have. A good chiropractor will spend time with you answering all of your questions, and they will cater your treatment and care to your concerns. So, don’t feel hesitant to ask them questions.
Conclusion
If you are interested in a free consultation or need help finding a chiropractor in your area, contact us today! We want to help relieve your pain and close your settlements as soon as possible!
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