If you're injured in a car accident but not so seriously that you're rushed to the emergency room, you might think to schedule a visit with your family doctor over the next few days. Doing so will allow your physician to assess your physical health and evaluate the extent of your injuries. Instead of waiting to see the doctor, you might wish to alternatively find a local chiropractic clinic and make an appointment — ideally, for as soon as possible. You don't need a doctor's referral to see a chiropractor, and there are several reasons that visiting this practitioner right away is a good idea. Here are three such reasons.
The Doctor Can't Complicate Things
While doctors are highly adept at many things, they aren't neck and back specialists. This means that while they can indeed assess some injuries that result from car accidents, they don't specialize in this area. Your doctor may be curious about your range of motion after the accident, for example, and contort your body in different ways or ask you to perform certain movements. Depending on the nature and severity of your injury, these positions and movements could be detrimental. For example, if your back is mildly out of alignment because of the accident, a drastic bend could further misalign it.
Timing Can Make A Difference
When you call to make a doctor's appointment, it can often be difficult to get in with short notice. This means that you might have to wait a week or more to see the physician. When you call a chiropractic clinic and explain what you've been through, the chiropractor will often do whatever is necessary to see you promptly. He or she knows that you can potentially worsen your condition by not having it tended to for several days; for example, sitting in a slouched manner with a misaligned back can make it worse. Getting into a chiropractor right away can make a big difference in the extent of your injury.
It May Be Valuable For Insurance Claims
You might not be thinking about making an insurance claim for your car accident injury right now, but seeing a chiropractor right away can be an asset. For example, if your car insurance company will have to pay for healthcare expenses because of your accident, it will often be skeptical of the severity of your ailment. If records show that you didn't see a doctor for a couple of weeks afterward, an insurance evaluator might believe that your injury isn't severe. However, if you can show paperwork that indicates you saw a chiropractor later the same day, it's a sign that the accident was indeed responsible for your pain.
Contact a company like Shaw Chiropractic Group for more information and assistance.
