Injured in a Car Accident? Turn to Physical Therapy.

If you have recently been in a car accident, you know how frightening it can be. Automobile accidents can result in injuries ranging from mild cuts and abrasions to broken bones and severe whiplash. This, undoubtedly, results in pain and discomfort following the accident.

In many cases, your primary physician may prescribe opioids as a way to ease your pain during your recovery process. However, this can pose some dangerous risks. Opioids are highly addictive and contain undesirable side effects.  

In fact, just within the year of 2016, opioid overdoses claimed the lives of 116 people each day. It is also estimated that about 11.5 million Americans misuse the pain-management drugs they’re prescribed when recovering from an injury – such as those sustained during car accidents.

Fortunately, physical therapy is a much safer and more effective pain-management solution after an accident. Physical therapy can help in your recovery from an automobile accident by reducing pain and inflammation, in addition to restoring your range of motion. To learn more about how we can help you recover from the injuries you sustained in your car accident, contact ProClinix Sports Physical Therapy & Chiropractic today

The many dangers of opioids:

It is important to note that opioids and over-the-counter drugs are very different. When people turn to over-the-counter medications to help ease pain, there aren’t many significant health risks. For the most part, Advil, Tylenol, and Ibuprofen are safe to use in moderation if you are trying to find immediate relief when recovering from your car accident.

But with severe pain, from a more serious injury you may have sustained during the accident, prescription-strength medications may be issued. However, with severe pain comes severe medication, as well. Opioids are the most commonly used medication for pain management across the United States. Even though they are commonplace, they contain some shockingly harmful facts:

• Opioids are a highly addictive substance and are the most commonly abused prescription medication.
• Opioids are a highly dangerous class of substances. Heroin is among the opioid category, as well as prescription pain relievers like oxycodone, hydrocodone, morphine, and more.
• More than 2 million people in the United States become addicted to pain medication every year, many of the medications being opioids.
• About a quarter of heroin addicts began their addiction through prescription opioid dependency.

These facts, while disturbing, cannot be ignored. They paint a bleak picture regarding prescription pain medication use across the United States, to the point where experts believe it has become an epidemic.

You don’t need to have a history of addiction to become dependent on opioids – in fact, many people who become addicted have never had any issues with drug dependency in the past. Fortunately, physical therapy can help provide the same pain relief in a much safer, healthier, and natural way.

Choose physical therapy instead:

If you were injured in a car accident, don’t turn to opioids. Physical therapy is an alternative form of treatment that will help in both easing your pain and helping your body heal. Physical therapy goes beyond pain relief and works to improve the overall function of your body by getting to the root of the problem. Unlike opioids, physical therapy aims to provide long-term relief, as opposed to short-term.

When sustaining a crash-related injury, your ability to stand, walk, run, work, and move altogether may be hindered. These areas of function will be addressed at your initial appointment and throughout the entirety of your treatment plan. The main goal of any physical therapy program is to relieve pain and get you back to your optimum levels of physical function, which your physical therapist will work hard to help you achieve.

Treatment plans will incorporate a series of treatments based on the nature of your condition, aimed at providing relief and recovery. This may include any combination of targeted exercises and stretches, manual therapy, ice and heat therapies, ultrasound, or electrical stimulation. Your treatment plan will also address strength, flexibility, and overall mobility, in order to get you back to your normal physical abilities.

If you’ve been in a car accident, ProClinix Sports Physical Therapy & Chiropractic is here for you. Our advanced holistic methods will help you recover the right way – without harmful risks. We’ll be your support system during every step of your treatment plan. Contact us today.