Severe Chronic Pain and Disability After Car Accident Helped by Chiropractic

Automobile accidents are a common occurrence. The National Law Review ran an article on January 26, 2021, by attorney Richard P. Console, Jr. that stated, "Rear-end accidents are among the most common types of car accidents. They are also very dangerous. These accidents occur most often while one vehicle is stationary and the other is moving at high speed. Due to the nature of these crashes, accident victims rarely have the opportunity to make any evasive maneuvers or brace themselves for the impact."

Watching TV for any length of time will provide you with a variety of legal firm advertisements on the subject. While the general public sees many ads about the legal side of automobile accidents, there is little written about the human healthcare side of this issue. The following study deals with the human suffering, and healthcare side of this issue.

On December 20, 2023, the results of a case study were published in Cureus by Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation documenting the recovery under chiropractic care of a patient in chronic pain who was involved in a rear-impact automobile accident. In this case, a 39-year-old man who was the driver of a large pickup truck was stopped at an intersection. He was suddenly struck from behind by another large pickup truck. The man was totally surprised and reported that he was violently thrown forward against the seat belt and then violently thrown backward into the seat.

Emergency medical services arrived on the scene. The man reported having neck pain and a headache as a result of the accident. Over the next few hours, his symptoms became worse, so he went to the emergency room seeking help. At the ER, the doctors performed an examination, but no x-rays were taken. He was diagnosed as having a "cervical sprain/strain" and was sent home with a prescription for five different medications.

The patient was referred by his general practitioner for chiropractic care and rehabilitation. At the time of his first chiropractic visit, the man was suffering with a near constant migraine headache, significant lower back pain, and severe neck pain that was radiating down into his right shoulder and arm. He also reported numbness, tingling, and weakness in his right arm.

A chiropractic examination and x-rays were performed. Based upon the results of the examination, specific forms of chiropractic care were started. A re-assessment and examination were performed after 24 chiropractic visits and compared to his initial visit.

The man reported to be very pleased with the results of his chiropractic care. It was recorded that his migraine headaches were improved by 80%. His neck pain, and stiffness were improved by 80%. Additionally, he reported that his shoulder and right arm pain, numbness, and tingling were 70% improved. At that time the man also noted that his anxiety and irritability were also 80% improved from before he started chiropractic.

The positive results the man reported were also backed up by positive objective improvements found during his follow-up examination and on his improved spinal x-rays.