Having a sore body after a car accident is more common than you think. Despite no external injuries, soreness, muscle ache, and pains result from major to minor accidents. These injuries actually last much longer. If not treated on point, you may develop chronic health problems.
Finding an Alternate Care Professional
Finding the correct type of alternate care professional to work with your general accident doctor is the first and foremost step in recovering from muscular pain. These steps will help you find the right specialists.
Seek Treatment Right Away
Most people do not seek immediate medical treatment for reasons like finding the right doctor or no visible symptoms in the first few days. However, you need to know that it can only worsen if you are not seeking treatment on time.
A doctor will help you get on the right track immediately by diagnosing the muscle pain and its intensity. Whether you feel the pain or not, going to a professional doctor is crucial.
The right doctor will immediately assess your condition and start a treatment plan to handle the muscle pain so you can return to a thriving quality of life before this mishap.
Keep Options Open
Visiting your primary accident doctor is obviously a mandatory step towards recovery. You need to keep your options open. Primary care doctors will prescribe medication to temporarily conceal that pain. However, you need someone to help you get rid of this problem once and for all.
The right accident doctor may not handle complex muscle pain. Still, they will refer you to someone who understands and treats complex muscle injuries.
Doctors That Help Treat Muscle Pain After Car Accident
Besides taking precautionary methods at home, you also need to see a specialist. They will work side by side with your doctor to help you entirely eliminate muscle pain and its causes after an accident. You need to find someone who specializes in dealing with muscular pain.
We shortlisted some medical professionals who can easily manage this kind of pain. Ask your accident injury doctor, and they will refer and recommend someone to handle your condition better.
Pain Management Specialist
Muscle pain can impede your life. A pain management specialist will help you improve the quality of life, which is obviously damaged after an accident. You obviously need to combine a general health care plan with pain management to pull your body out of the muscle injury. A professional pain management specialist will design an effective strategy to help you recover. They will make changes in the plan accordingly and let you know when you are good to go.
Psychiatrist
Dealing with muscle pain is not just a physical challenge. People suffer from intense stress after their quality of life is hampered. However, working with a psychiatrist will help you handle the injuries in a much better way. While restoring the quality of life, your doctor will also develop a customized long-term treatment plan. This plan is going to help you manage pain better and develop an active lifestyle.
Physical Therapy
Physical therapy is an integral part of muscle pain treatment. You will require the services of a physical therapist who will plan a series of thoroughly planned exercises targeting the affected muscle groups. Since you lose stamina and strength, these exercises will help you rebuild all that back. While increasing the flexibility, they will help you restore the lost range of motion. Besides helping you get back on track, physical therapy will prevent the long-term effects such as chronic pain after an accident.
Acupuncture
An acupuncturist, a professional therapist, is a perfect choice as alternate care professional if you lean toward holistic and natural treatment plans. They use a series of almost undetectable needles that open pathways in the body. These pathways release inflammation and pain from the body while promoting a natural and boosted healing process.
Chiropractic Care
Chiropractic care is a compulsion if you are injured in an accident. Most people who suffer from whiplash and spinal injuries visit a chiropractor regularly. Instead of focusing on temporarily reducing pain, chiropractors will help eliminate the root cause of pain.
To seek the services of chiropractors, you do not need a referral from your injury doctor. Adjustments done by car accident injury chiropractors will assist in loosening up joints, realign the spine, and alleviate the persistent pain and inflammation that often follows an internal injury.
How to Manage Muscle Pain After an Accident?
Muscle pain usually does not occur immediately like physical injuries. You may experience soreness and tightness that reduces the range of motion in your body after 48 to 72 hours of the accident.
Your accident doctor will prescribe muscle relaxants and recommend the following tips to relieve muscle pain.
Rest
Rest is an essential component of total-body recovery. You must relax and allow your muscles the time they require to recover from the damage caused by your car accident. There is no fixed recovery time, so just follow your body and give it as much time as it requires for healing.
Keep Yourself Hydrated
Staying hydrated is one of the most important actions you can do to help your muscles repair after an injury. This advice is excellent for everyday use and is critical for providing your muscles with the necessary nutrients to recover. When you are dehydrated, your muscles have difficulty working correctly, which can cause tightness and cramping. Your muscles are already strained from the injury. They require more fluids to keep them from stiffening and creating more pain throughout the healing process.
Yoga and Stretching
Yoga and stretching exercises will help you relax the stiff parts of your muscles. Yoga and stretching can be performed easily in the comfort of your home. Combining both will oxygenate your muscles and allow them to restore their natural functionality and promote healing.
Physical Therapy
Physiotherapy can help with muscular strains and injuries. Following your initial appointment, your therapist will create a workout routine to target your affected muscles. These routines generally include stretches, exercises of different intensities, and food recommendations.
Opt for Massage Therapy
Massage treatment is another option to explore that can assist in reducing the discomfort caused by accidents. General massage, stone treatment, and deep tissue massage are all examples of this therapy. Because your muscles are concealed deep within your body, deep tissue massage may assist in relaxing those tensed muscles following a vehicle accident and reduce constant pain.
Conclusion
Car accident injuries can result in various internal and external injuries. Muscle pain is a prevalent issue that 85% of people experience after the accident. Usually, the symptoms of muscle pain appear 48 to 72 hours after the accident. You need to seek medical treatment immediately.
Your primary care doctor helps you reduce the pain. An alternate care provider will work side by side to determine the root cause of pain and eliminate it entirely. Chiropractic care, physical therapy, psychiatrist, acupuncturists are great alternate care professionals. Besides this, you obviously need plenty of rest, hydration, and meditation to loosen up that body and restore your original quality of life. Let your body tell you how much rest you need and follow its direction rather than pushing it.