How Long Should I Go to Physical Therapy After a Car Accident?
When you’ve been in a car accident, you definitely want to know how long it will take you to heal. After a vehicle accident, you may require physical therapy to help you fully recover and get back on your feet.
When it comes to physical therapy after a car accident, there are three things to consider:
1. The Type of Injury
As you might expect, the type of car accident injury you suffer might influence how you are treated and how long it takes you to heal. Whiplash is one of the most prevalent car accident injuries. When the force of an accident forces your head and neck to jolt violently forward and backward, you have a whiplash injury. The muscles and tendons in your neck may stretch beyond their normal range of motion as a result of this. Whiplash can potentially harm your neck’s spinal column, resulting in serious disc problems. It may take several months to fully recover and return to your previous range of motion in your neck and back, depending on the severity of your whiplash.
2. The Severity of the Accident
Even minor car accidents can result in injuries such as whiplash, so you should always consult your doctor and get a physical examination to check out any hidden injuries that could cause pain and suffering if left untreated. In a more severe car accident, however, you are more likely to suffer a moderate to severe injury. Even if you are properly wearing your seatbelt and the airbag deploys, the impact of a more serious accident might cause major injury to your body. A dislocated knee or a broken foot, for example, can disrupt your regular activities for months.
3. Any Previous Injuries
Something that may not be entirely obvious is how past injuries may hinder your recovery time if you experience a new injury in a car accident. Scar tissue from a past injury can affect with how your body recovers a new injury. If you’ve had past injuries, especially if they happened in the same place, physical therapy may take longer. Along with treating your new injury, your physical therapist in Delaware may want to address any unresolved issues from the previous injury.
How Physical Therapy Helps Car Accident Victims?
It Helps Your Recovery Process
- Some injuries do not automatically heal and return you to your normal routine. During the healing and recovery process, many injuries can cause pain and suffering, which physical therapy can help with. A physical therapist can assist you with injuries from a car accident that limit your range of motion or make routine tasks difficult. One goal of physical therapy is to help your recovery by restoring your range of motion and allowing you to resume your daily activities.
It Helps Reduce Your Pain
- Physical therapy also aims to help you cope with the pain and discomfort that comes with a car accident injury. Keeping your body moving and strengthening your muscles will help you heal and recover faster than if you don't move around as much. When recovering from an accident, a lack of physical exercise can produce stiffness, which can make it more difficult to return to your usual routines.
It Helps Prevent Long-Term Damage
- When you see a physical therapist after a car accident, the treatment goals will be to address the immediate injury as well as to avoid future injuries. These activities assist you in healing and recovering after an accident when you are doing workouts to help with strength and flexibility. These activities, on the other hand, are designed to help your body become more capable of supporting itself.
It Helps Avoid Surgery
- The last thing you want to hear is that you require surgery to correct a serious injury. Surgery has a longer recovery time and is typically highly hard on the body. Physical therapy focuses on strengthening certain muscles, tendons, and ligaments that support and protect other portions of your body, allowing you to avoid surgery. Physical therapy, chiropractic treatments, and other orthopedic treatment methods are usually cheaper and take less time to recover from than surgery.
The most important aspect of your treatment is ensuring that your physical therapist and doctor work to create a comprehensive treatment plan suited to your injuries, body, and medical history.
At Performance Physical Therapy, your Doctor of PT will provide you with an individualized treatment plan to help you heal and recover as swiftly and safely as possible. Call us today!