Car Accident Recovery: Tips from a Physical Therapist
When you are involved in a car accident, you will likely have a lot of questions, ranging from whether or not your car is still drivable to whether or not you need medical attention. As a physical therapist, I have seen hundreds of individuals after car accidents and have a couple tips you can use.
#1: Have your Injuries Examined
Our bodies are not designed to handle the trauma of a car accident. Up until about 100 years ago, there was no activity where you could be hit by a 4,000 pound object going 30+ mph and survive. As a result, it is very common, if not expected, that you will experience pain after a car accident. Sometimes this pain starts right away, but sometimes the pain takes a few days to begin due to adrenaline and other factors.
#2: Keep Moving
I commonly tell patients that recovering from a car accident is like climbing a mountain. When an accident occurs, imagine you are at the top of the mountain, and as you become less active as your injuries heal, you begin to slide down the mountain. Then, once your injuries have healed, you have to climb back up to the mountain to get back to where you were when you started.
One of my goals is to minimize how much you slide down the mountain. If you are able to tolerate going for walks or other forms of exercise, it is recommended that you do so (*talk to your provider to ensure you are not causing further injury). This will help reduce how much strength and function you lose while you recover.
#3: Be as Healthy as Possible Before the Accident Occurs
Think about two people involved in the same car accident: one is a 250-lb professional football player and the other is a 75-lb sedentary individual. Which one do you think will recover from their injuries faster? While this is an extreme example, I consistently see that people who have healthy lifestyle behaviors prior to an accident are much more resilient and recover from their injuries faster than those that don’t. If you have ever undergone an elective surgery, you might remember hearing the phrase “the better you are going into surgery, the better you will be coming out of surgery.” The same concept applies to car accidents.
Western Slope Rehab and Performance is Here to Help
If you are struggling with injuries or have recently been in a motor vehicle accident, we can help. We are a physical therapy company that provides home-based orthopedic services in the Grand Junction, CO, area, as well as telehealth appointments throughout Colorado. If you would like to schedule a free consultation, you can call us as 970-462-9177, or fill out our contact form here.
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