Auto Injury, Rhode Island Chiropractic Care for Car Accident injuries, whiplash, and back pain
Dr. Stephen M. Estner | Chiropractor 401.275.2225
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Car Accident Related Injuries
Even "fender-benders" can cause hidden injuries that can develop into pain, headaches, and arthritis. Even worse, most people who have been involved in an auto accident may not even know that they've been hurt. Most doctors give pain killers to hide these injuries. The chiropractic approach to these types of injuries is to use specific chiropractic adjustments to help return spinal function. After a thorough case history and examination, the doctor will recommend any necessary care to help restore proper motion and position of spinal bones. If caught early enough, inflammation can be reduced and scar tissue can often be minimized.
The Rhode Island Chiropractic clinic of Dr. Stephen Estner treats many of the ailments of an auto injury including (Click on a topic below for more information):
Whiplash
Whiplash is a nonmedical term used to describe neck pain following an injury to the soft tissues of your neck (specifically ligaments, tendons, and muscles). It is caused by an abnormal motion or force applied to your neck that causes movement beyond the neck's normal range of motion.
Whiplash happens in motor vehicle accidents such as car crashes, auto accidents, and truck accidents, as well as during sporting activities, accidental falls, and assault.
Whiplash Causes
The most frequent cause of whiplash is a car accident. The speed of the cars involved in the accident or the amount of physical damage to the car may not relate to the intensity of neck injury; speeds as low as 15 miles per hour can produce enough energy to cause whiplash in occupants, whether or not they wear seat belts.
Other common causes of whiplash include contact sport injuries and blows to the head from a falling object or being assaulted. Also, Repetitive stress injuries or chronic strain involving the neck (such as using your neck to hold the phone) are a common, non-acute causes.
Contact a Rhode Island Whiplash Treatment Chiropractor today at 401.275.2225 or EMAIL US NOW
Sprains and Strains
The body is meant to move. Muscles allow that movement to happen by contracting and making joints flex, extend and rotate. Muscles attach on each side of the joint to bone by thick bands of fibrous tissue called tendons. When a muscle contracts, it shortens and pulls on the tendon, which allows the joint to go through a range of motion.
A strain occurs when the muscle tendon unit is stretched or torn. The most common reason is the overuse and stretching of the muscle. The damage may occur in three areas:
- The muscle itself may tear.
- The area where the muscle and tendon blend can tear.
- The tendon may tear partially or completely (rupture).
Joints are stabilized by thick bands of tissue called ligaments which surround them. These ligaments allow the joint to move only in specific directions. Some joints move in multiple planes; therefore, they need more than one group of ligaments to hold the joint in proper alignment. The ligaments are anchored to bone on each side of the joint. If a ligament is stretched or torn, the injury is called a sprain.
Contact a Rhode Island Strain & Sprain Relief Chiropractor today at 401.275.2225 or EMAIL US NOW
Shoulder and Neck Pain
Your neck and shoulders contain muscles, bones, nerves, arteries, and veins, as well as many ligaments and other supporting structures. Many conditions can cause pain in the neck and shoulder area. Some are life threatening (such as heart attack and major trauma), and others are not so dangerous (such as simple strains or contusions).
Shoulder and Neck Pain Causes
Most shoulder and neck pain results from injury to muscles and ligaments. The spinal cord, heart, lungs, and some abdominal organs also can cause neck and shoulder pain. Here are some examples:
- Broken collarbone: Falling on your outstretched arm can cause your collarbone to break.
- Bursitis: A bursa is a sac over the joints to provide a cushion to the joints and muscles. These bursa can become swollen and painful after injuries.
- Heart attacks: Although the problem is the heart, heart attacks can cause shoulder or neck pain, known as "referred" pain.
- Broken shoulder blade: An injury to the shoulder blade usually is associated with relatively forceful trauma.
- Rotator cuff injuries: The rotator cuff is a group of muscles at the shoulder. These muscles can be injured playing sports with a lot of throwing or after repetitive use over a long time.
- Shoulder or A-C separation: The collarbone and shoulder blade are connected by a ligament. With trauma to the shoulder, this ligament can be stretched or torn.
- Whiplash injury: Injury to the ligamentous and muscular structures of the neck and shoulder can be caused by sudden acceleration or deceleration, as in a car accident.
- Tendonitis: The tendons connect the muscles to the bones. With strain, the tendons can become swollen and cause pain.
- Gallbladder disease: This can cause a pain referred to the right shoulder.
Contact a Rhode Island Shoulder and Neck Pain Relief Chiropractor today at 401.275.2225 or EMAIL US NOW
Headaches
Many times after a car accident people will have initial neck pain, are seen in the emergency room and treated. If the injuries are not life threatening they are sent home with some medication and told to rest. Unfortunately, many will start to have headaches, even if they have never had headaches before. Those with a history of headaches will find their headaches are getting worse. Most of the time the headache will dissipate over a week or two and everything will be fine.
But what if the headaches don't go away? What happens and what do people do if the headache gets worse? Post traumatic headaches that get better in four to six weeks are considered acute headaches, but those that stay at the same pain level, start to get worse, or go beyond six weeks are more concerning. The headaches may be all over the head and moderate in pain with breakthrough stabbing, throbbing pain on one side. This more severe form of headache is associated with migraine symptoms and indeed is a migraine.
The key to post traumatic headache syndrome is to find a headache specialist and be patient. If the headaches are severe, chances are that it will take several months for any one treatment to have an effect. Most people are not aware of this fact in headache treatment, so they tend to start and stop treatments after a few days or weeks and become discouraged. The longer the brain has the treatments on board, the greater the chance it will heal.
Contact a Rhode Island Headache Relief Chiropractor today at 401.275.2225 or EMAIL US NOW
Numbness
Numbness and tingling down the arms and legs, also known as paresthesia, can also include symptoms such as pain, burning, pricking, or creeping along the skin. These symptoms generally indicate a malfunction of sensory nerves.
How IUCCA Upper Cervical Care Relates to Numbness and Tingling in Arms, Legs
The purpose of IUCCA upper cervical care is to correct cervical spine mechanics that are irritating spinal cord tracts and nerve roots that extend down the arms as well as down the spinal cord to the legs. While many sufferers of numbness, tingling, and pain in their arms and legs recall specific traumas such as head injuries, auto accidents or falls, which could have injured their spines, some do not. An upper cervical examination utilizing Laser-aligned Radiography and Digital Infrared Imaging is necessary in each individual's case to assess whether an upper cervical injury is present and whether benefit from upper cervical care can be achieved.
Contact a Rhode Island Numbness Relief Chiropractor today at 401.275.2225 or EMAIL US NOW
Dizziness (Vertigo)
Dizziness is a common description for many different feelings. Vertigo/dizziness is a complaint that has been documented as a finding after car crashes much scientific literature. One source stated that 15% of car crash victims will experience vertiginous symptoms and 4% will have associated tinnitis (ringing in the ears). This is especially true in the case of rear impact collisions. The feeling of dizziness may be very familiar to you, yet difficult to describe.
Vertigo is a medical term to describe the feeling of spinning, whirling, or motion either of yourself or your surroundings. This is the same feeling you might have after getting off a merry-go-round or spinning in place. Several diseases of the balance organs of the inner ear can cause vertigo, or it may be a symptom of a tumor or stroke. It may also be a result of an injury.
Dizziness may be just mildly annoying or caused by something possibly life threatening. Often after an auto accident injury people experience this as a symptom of the injury sustained.
When you might feel dizziness:
- Fainting or near fainting such as "at the sight of blood" or with emotional upset
- Fainting or near fainting from standing up too quickly or standing still too long
- Weakness during a flu, cold, or other illness
- Seasickness or motion sickness
- Queasiness, nausea, or vomiting
- Confused thinking
- Fatigue, tiredness, or daytime sleepiness
- Clumsy hands or stumbling walking
Joints are stabilized by thick bands of tissue called ligaments which surround them. These ligaments allow the joint to move only in specific directions. Some joints move in multiple planes; therefore, they need more than one group of ligaments to hold the joint in proper alignment. The ligaments are anchored to bone on each side of the joint. If a ligament is stretched or torn, the injury is called a sprain.
Contact a Rhode Island Dizziness/Vertigo Relief Chiropractor today at 401.275.2225 or EMAIL US NOW
Lower Back Pain
Car accident back pain is one of the worst and most prevalent types of chronic pain. The tremendous forces created during a car accident are enough to tear apart soft tissue and shatter bone. Life altering spinal injuries are often the result of serious automobile wrecks and even minor fender benders can create some significant back ache complaints.
The spine is the most important part of our skeletons. Spinal injuries are common in serious automobile accidents. Vertebral fracture and spinal instability can result from the nightmarish force of a high speed collision. Occupants who are ejected from a moving vehicle face an even greater risk of spinal fracture, serious injury or death. Many spinal injuries require immediate back surgery and may leave the patient permanently affected in form and function.
If you have been seriously hurt in an automobile accident, be happy to be alive. Your situation could always be worse, regardless of the extent of your injuries. Concentrate on your recovery and try to make the best of the functionality you still possess. Contacting a licensed Chiropractor that concentrates in Auto Injury relief and therapy is one of the first moves to make.
Contact a Rhode Island Lower Back Pain Chiropractor today at 401.275.2225 or EMAIL US NOW
Pain in Legs or Arms
The cause of many instances of shoulder or arm pain is obvious. You do something to injure the arm or shoulder and immediately feel pain, such as in an auto accident. You may have broken a bone or dislocated your shoulder. Perhaps you strained tendons or ligaments by carrying too much weight for too long, by lifting something that was too heavy, overreaching or overexerting your arm-as when playing sports when you’re out of shape-or by keeping your arm in an awkward position or even by sleeping on the shoulder. The resulting pain may range from an annoying ache to an acute pain that makes it hard for you to use the injured arm.
There are other, less-obvious causes of shoulder or arm pain. Each is distinguished by where it is felt, whether it comes on suddenly or over time, when it is at its worst, if the pain extends to other joints in your body, and if other symptoms—such as swelling, numbness, tingling, fever, fatigue, and insomnia—accompany the pain. The causes of shoulder and arm pain include tendonitis, bursitis, arthritis, and gout. Such pain may also result from a reaction to medications such as penicillin, anti-anxiety drugs, and oral contraceptives. Whiplash injuries, common in auto accidents, can also cause shoulder and arm pain.
Shoulder and arm pain may be referred from some other region of the body, as when someone suffering a heart attack feels pain in the left shoulder and down the left arm. The pain may also be referred from nerves associated with the joints in the upper spine or “trigger points” in the back, which are particularly responsive to chiropractic spinal adjustments designed to treat such problems.
Legs are generally abused from standing or sitting for long periods of time. It is important to stretch, massage, and incorporate joint movement to get pain relief. The knee is a complex joint influenced by muscles from above and below the joint. Knee instability is often compensated for by increased muscle tension in the leg muscles and shortening of the iliotibial tract (large connective tissue structure on the outside of the leg). Car accident injuries that damage these parts of the leg require special attention.
Contact a Rhode Island Arm and Leg Pain Relief Chiropractor today at 401.275.2225 or EMAIL US NOW
Car Seatbelt Injury
Another common type of personal injury experienced from a car accident is seatbelt injury. This is hardly surprising really when you think what happens in a car accident. Whether some car has rear ended your car or anther car has rammed into the side of your car you will be jerked forward or sideways. This thrust will have an effect on your body even if you are wearing a seatbelt. Obviously wearing a seatbelt is law and rightly so. There have been a number of studies into the safety of passengers and the tests showed that if you ware a seatbelt you are less likely to be injured as seriously than if you were not wearing one. All the same you can still be damaged by a seatbelt and in some case quite seriously.
Although lifesaving, the seatbelt causes misaligned ribs and vertabrae which in turn pinch and pull the nerves which are connected to these affected areas. The result is pain. Why go untreated after an automobile accident? Pain does not have to become a way of life after an accident. If you're involved in an accident, whether it occurs on the job or on the road, contact our office for a complete post accident examination. It could save you from having to say, "....it's never been the same after the accident."
Contact a Rhode Island Arm and Leg Pain Relief Chiropractor today at 401.275.2225 or EMAIL US NOW
Treatments Available
- Spinal adjustments, manual and activator
- Flexion / Distraction
- Physiotherapy (Electric Simulation/Ultrasound)
- Rehabilitation (Synergy Systems)
- Massage therapy
Insurance/Financial
- Preferred Provider for the Beacon Mutual Insurance Company (Worker’s Compensation).
- Auto/Work accidents (will bill your insurance and attorney)
- Tufts, Aetna, Cigna, Blue Cross, Blue Chip, United Health (Out of network)
- Most other Insurances accepted
- Affordable cash payment plans
- Most major credit cards accepted
Visit Us / Contact Us
Cranston Office1039 Reservoir Avenue
Cranston, RI 02910
(v) 401.275.2225
(f) 401.275.0620
(e) info@drestner.com
Pawtucket Office
7 George Street
Pawtucket, RI 02860
(v) 401.724.7246
(f) 401.275.0620
(e) info@drestner.com
Conveniently Serving the Rhode Island towns of: Central Falls - Cumberland - East Greenwich - Johnston - Lincoln - North Providence - Providence - Warwick - West Warwick