What helps body ache after accident?

Do Your Muscles Hurt Due to an Auto Accident?

When you have suffered a car accident, you will notice body soreness, aches, and pains right after a collision. These pains will come from any lacerations and from the impact of the crash. After a few days, you may notice that your muscles are tight and sore. This pain can be caused by multiple factors from your auto accident.

When you are about to have a collision, your body tightens itself to brace for the impact. Your muscles tighten throughout your body to protect their prospective areas. This tightening causes your muscles to be pulled and, in some cases, torn. The endorphins and adrenaline released in these stressful situations can mask this pain and the real damage it has caused until later the same day or in some cases days later.

As your muscles relax and the stress of the initial accident subsides, you may begin to experience muscle pain. It is important that you are attentive to these pain signals from your body. Should you experience stabbing pain or consistent throbbing pain, this is a sign you need to seek medical advice.

Steps to Take to Relieve Muscle Pain

When experiencing muscle pains, your first priority is to relieve the pain. This can hard to accomplish because of the nature of these types of injuries. With many of these muscles being deep inside your body, it is hard to reach them for relief. Here are a few steps you can take to relieve the pain and speed up your healing process.

Stay Hydrated

One of the most vital steps to take in helping your muscles heal after an accident is to stay hydrated. This advice is great practice for your everyday life and is essential to giving your muscles what they need to heal. When you are dehydrated, your muscles have trouble functioning properly, which can lead to tightening and muscle cramps. During the healing process, your muscles are already stressed from the injury and need the extra aid of fluids to keep them from tightening and causing more pain.

Massage Therapy

Another option to consider to help relieve some of the pain you are feeling and to promote the healing process is massage therapy. This therapy can include general massage, stone therapy, and deep tissue massage. With your muscles being hidden deep within your body, deep tissue massage might help to relax those tightened muscles after a car accident and help relieve the body pain you are experiencing.

Physical Therapy

Physiotherapy is beneficial for muscle strains and injuries. After your initial consultation, your therapist will design a routine for your specific needs and requirements. These routines will typically include stretches, light exercise in the beginning, and increasing with time, dietary plans that will be beneficial to your recovery and a whole-body plan to tie it all together.

Yoga and Stretching

Yoga and stretching can help to relax the stiffness that stress has caused in your muscles during your accident. Because both of these require deep breathing and a full range of motion, these two combined can give your muscles the oxygen they need to function at their best, and the relaxing effect the stretching can have. This combination will help your whole body while giving your muscles a gentle work out to increase and promote healing.

Rest

Rest is a vital component to whole-body healing. Your muscles are no exception. You need to rest and give your muscles the time they need to recuperate from the damage that was done during your auto accident. There is no set time for this healing process, and you need to let your body be your guide.

Signs You Need Medical Treatment

While you are in your healing phase, you need to pay attention to all of the signs your body gives you. If you feel sharp or worsening pain, you need to find a doctor and seek medical treatment as soon as possible. It is highly recommended to discuss any treatment plan or therapy with your doctor before you begin to ensure that you will not be causing further damage. Following all of these tips and the recommendations of your doctor will help reduce your recovery time after an auto accident.

Why You Should Always Get Medical Treatment After a Car Accident

Even if you do not think that you have any serious injuries, you should always visit your doctor following a car accident, whether it occurred on your own time or counts as a workplace injury. This protects your health and it also provides legal protection, both in several key ways.

Spot Injuries

The biggest health-related reason to visit your doctor for medical treatment after any car accident, no matter how good you feel, is to spot any injuries. Car accidents frequently lead to delayed onset injuries, meaning you may not notice a problem for a few days or weeks. This is particularly common with whiplash, which can take days or weeks to appear.

Remember that the sooner you notice an injury, the sooner you can begin treating it. This can be the difference between experiencing no pain or loss of mobility via early treatment compared with days of suffering while you wait for a doctor’s appointment. It would be best if you also remembered that you aren’t alone; 4.4 million people need to see doctors following car accidents in the U.S. each year.

Endorphins May Hide Injuries

In addition to some injuries not appearing for a few days or weeks after your accident, there is also the chance that you may not notice injuries immediately because of endorphins or adrenaline from your body going into “fight or flight” mode. By giving you a thorough exam and potentially taking X-rays, your doctor can spot these problems. This is particularly important in the case of broken bones or other injuries that may heal incorrectly or worsen if left alone even for a day.

Protect Yourself (Legally)

The other major reason to visit a doctor right away is to protect yourself legally. By visiting a doctor, you get clear documentation that you were injured in the car accident. If you were to wait to visit the doctor, the other party’s lawyers could claim that the injuries came from something else after the fact. The other party may also argue that the injury was not that bad if you did not go to the doctor right away. Remember that insurance is a business, and with 2013’s work-related crashes costing companies $25 billion, insurance companies and employers alike will do what they can to save money.

Choosing The Right Doctor After a Car Accident

Although it is tempting to just see your primary care physician following a car accident, this is not always ideal. Yes, you already have an established relationship with them, and they know your medical history. But, because they do not specialize in car accident injuries, they may miss less-common injuries that occur from these collisions.

Perhaps more importantly, most primary care physicians are not familiar with the legal battles that sometimes arrive with car accidents. Insurance companies fight for responsibility and to not pay for injuries, whether private parties or workers’ compensation is involved. These legal battles typically require specific documentation and detailed records, which your primary care physician may not be familiar with. Perhaps they will leave a seemingly small detail, like mild knee pain, out of the documents, only for it to worsen later. This could hurt your chances of full compensation. Because of that, it is best to choose a doctor that specializes in dealing with injuries following car accidents.

What Type of Doctor Should You See for Muscle Pain After a Car Accident?

If lingering muscle pain is continuing to cause discomfort after an automobile accident, it may be time to see a doctor. Depending on the type of pain you are experiencing, there are different doctors available you can help you find relief from your muscle pain.

It is important to find a doctor that specializes in auto-injuries and who is seasoned in helping patients get out of pain and get back to a healthy lifestyle.

Take a look at this brief overview of the different medical professionals who are experienced in handling post-accident pain treatments to find an expert who works best for you.

Physiatrist

Physiatrists are doctors who specialize in physical medicine and rehabilitation. Their goal is simple—to help restore functional ability and quality of life to their patients. If you are struggling with serious muscle pain and find it is unable to function as normal, this type of doctor may be able to help.

Your physiatrist will assess and document your injuries and work with you to develop a long-term rehabilitation plan so that you can get back to fully functioning after your accident.

Chiropractor

Chiropractors work a great deal with those who have been injured in car accidents, particularly when it pertains to spinal or whiplash injuries. Many people experience serious muscle pain after an auto accident as a result of a whiplash injury.

Chiropractors are not only seasoned in working with auto-accident patients, but they are primary care providers, meaning you don’t need a referral to make an appointment. Chiropractic adjustments will help free up joints, realign the spin and help with that chronic pain and inflammation that tends to occur after a serious accident.

Physical Therapist

Physical therapy can be a very important part of your post-accident rehabilitation, especially if you are dealing with muscle pain. A physical therapist can help you recover from auto-accident injuries through a series of strategically-planned exercises.

These exercises will help you build up muscle strength and range-of-motion so you can start getting back to pain-free daily activities.

Physical therapists can develop a plan that will not only help you get back to functioning pain-free but prevent long-term effects from your auto injuries as well.

Pain Management Doctor

If you are struggling with muscle pain following an auto accident and find that it is impacting your overall quality of life—then a pain management doctor can help. Typically, this type of pain management service is paired with some sort of rehabilitation that will help your body recover from your injury as well.

The right pain management doctor will help get you on an effective pain program while you recover and help you slowly ween off that program when you are ready to return to life as normal.

Acupuncturist

If you tend to lean towards more natural and holistic treatments, then an acupuncturist is a great professional to visit if you are dealing with serious muscle pain.

Acupuncturists will use a series of small, barely detectable needles to help open up pathways in the body. This will reduce pain and inflammation and promote faster, natural healing following your accident.

No matter what type of medical professional you feel works best for you, it is important to find someone local you can trust, and someone who can help you find the pain relief you need to move forward after your accident.

How to Find a Doctor After a Car Accident

Knowing what type of doctor you want to see is an important first step in getting on the road to recovery after a car accident. But how do you get started and make sure you are finding a professional you can trust?

The right doctor is instrumental in helping you get back on your feet after a car accident. If you find yourself in this situation, here are some tips to help you get started.

Don’t Just Visit Your Primary Care Physician

While your primary is undoubtedly a great doctor and the perfect person to go to when you think you may have the flu—they shouldn’t be your main treatment doctor after your accident.

Most primary physicians don’t like to get involved in these types of cases, and they don’t specialize in these types of injuries for a reason. Typically, primary physicians focus primarily on internal medical conditions—not on muscle pain, broken bones or similar auto injuries.

The right specialist, who works with injuries, will not only be able to help treat you, but they will understand the importance of documenting your case for insurance and legal purposes.

Your primary will likely just refer you to someone else who specializes in injuries instead—which is why it is best to take control of the situation and find a specialist that works for you.

Don’t Wait, Get Help Right Away!

If there is one mistake that a lot of people make after an auto accident, it is waiting to find a doctor. Muscle pain is a serious matter and should be treated accordingly. While you may think that this pain and discomfort will go away with time, in many situations, it only gets worse.

Plus, you want your injuries documented right away for the insurance companies—as waiting can make things complicated.

A doctor will not only help you start feeling better, but they will help diagnose the root of your muscle pain and discomfort and make sure there isn’t something more serious, causing your pain.

If you feel pain after an auto accident—you need to go and see a doctor, plain and simple.

By using a directory of experienced, local car accident doctors, you can find specialists in your area based on the type of accident you were in and the type of medical professional you are looking to visit. Going to the right doctor right away is important and is a process that should be taken seriously.

In the hands of the right doctor, you can start a treatment plan that will help you get rid of your post-accident muscle pain so you can start feeling like yourself again.

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How long do body aches last after a car accident?

After your car accident, in general, expect soreness to linger for up to six weeks. Normal pain after a car accident usually includes minor soreness. Commonly, car accident victims experience pain in the neck or back.

Why does my whole body hurt after a car accident?

Trauma from a collision can severely damage the soft tissues of the body. Muscle pain is often caused by soft tissue injuries, like strains, sprains, and whiplash. Your body's hundreds of muscles are necessary to keep you mobile. After an accident, these muscles can become stretched, torn, and swollen.