The Little-Known Side Effects of Fender Benders

Every year, there are more than two million traffic accidents in the United States. That means that far more than two million people are being bounced around their vehicles to a greater or lesser degree, and they are suffering some trauma.

Of course, when anyone has a serious accident or suffers an injury in such an accident, they are going to seek medical treatment afterwards. Anyone who has learned how vital chiropractic care is to their spinal and overall health will include visits to the chiropractor in their plan for post-accident care. Chiropractic is very effective in unlocking the trauma a person has suffered, thereby preventing that trauma from causing long-term problems.

But what about the little wee accidents? The fender benders. The parking lot collisions at five miles an hour. Did you know that you should also see your chiropractor after these minor accidents, too?

 

What Can Show Up After the Fender Bender

It’s very common for people in these minor accidents to dismiss the idea that they may have sustained any injury. They would be wrong. Sure, they might say, “Yeah, my neck was a little sore.” They might follow this by saying, “I took some ibuprofen and I was fine.”

Or maybe they go to the medical doctor after the minor accident and they get an x-ray. The x-ray shows nothing. But the soft tissue trauma is there and over time, it may cause problems that, one day, will be obvious on x-rays.

I’ve talked to some patients who suffered no trauma except one of those minor parking lot accidents. By the time five, ten or fifteen years goes by, they have lost the curve in their neck. They are stuck in a forward head posture. There might even be some degenerative changes to the vertebrae and it all traces back to that minor accident.

Weeks, months or even years after an accident, symptoms like these may appear:

1. Tension headaches
2. Stomach aches
3. Fatigue
4. Change in vision
5. Dizziness
6. Stiff muscles
7. Back, neck or shoulder pain
8. Sleep problems
9. Sensitivity to light or noises
10. Memory problems

Weeks, months or even years after an accident, an x-ray may finally show the harm done by that little fender bender, even when post-accident x-rays showed nothing.

 

The Necessity of Seeking Chiropractic Care After an Accident

Chiropractors are experts in remedying the damage that results from this type of trauma. Chiropractic care immediately after an accident can help you address immediate aches and pains as well as prevent these longer-range symptoms from showing up.

After even one of these minor accidents, it is possible to lose the natural curve in the neck (the cervical spine). This change can begin the degeneration process in the neck vertebrae, as well as triggering nerve pain and stiff muscles. It’s important to maintain or restore that curve in your neck by seeing a chiropractor as soon as possible.

And even if time has gone by and the natural curve of the neck or spine has been compromised, chiropractors are experts in restoring it.

We help many people in the Greater St. Louis area heal from the trauma of traffic accidents—both big accidents and little ones—with our care. It is so rewarding when we see their headaches go away or their gait return to normal after one of these accidents. We would love to help you recover from the lingering effects of any accident you may have experienced in the past.

 

Chiropractic, Care, Nutrition and Pressure Point Therapy

We have several methods of helping our patients recover from this trauma. The primary care is, of course, chiropractic. However, nutritional supplements can aid the healing of muscles and bones. And Pressure Point Therapy improves recovery from pain.

Pressure Point Therapy involves applying the exact right pressure for the right amount of time to small, tight knots of pain embedded in the muscles. We offer this therapy to our patients to help their muscles relax and heal faster. If you would like to experience this therapy, we offer it at no charge to patients who are new to our practice. Call us today at 314-310-8359 to experience this relief.

 

About Dr. Dustan Mattingly: Dr. Dusty discovered chiropractic after it helped him recover from an injury he suffered while in the military. Chiropractic eliminated his neck pain, sparing him the ill effects of painkillers and surgery. He graduated from the Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa and then went on to study additional chiropractic techniques, the specialized treatment of sports and accident injuries and nutrition. He also mastered the art of Pressure Point Therapy to improve patients’ response to treatment. With this specialized technique, he found he could provide increased relief from pain and muscle dysfunction and help a patient recover more quickly from the effects of stress or injuries.