Physiotherapy can help with a wide range of common issues following a car accident. These problems include whiplash, inflammation, fractures, and more. Here's an overview of how physiotherapy works, how soon to start after a car accident, what to expect, and how it can help.

Have you been in a car accident? Are you wondering how you can ever heal? Contact Excellence in Health to find out how our physiotherapy helps.

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What Is Physiotherapy?

Physiotherapy, sometimes used interchangeably with physical therapy, is a kind of physical treatment that helps people with chronic conditions or after an injury. The word "physiotherapy" is more often used in other parts of the world, while "physical therapy" is the more popular term in America.

Physiotherapy is a very hands-on approach, founded in scientific and evidence-based healing techniques. The main focus of this practice is treating the musculoskeletal system and all the other body parts that are affected by it. This includes promoting healing for people who have a disability, an illness, or an injury, such as those caused by car accidents.

The goals of physiotherapy align well with helping people after a car accident and restoring your ability to move and function at your best and improve your overall physical condition. What's more, physiotherapy after a car accident can help you eliminate or minimize pain and discomfort from your injuries.

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How Does Physiotherapy Work?

Physiotherapy starts with a complete assessment of your physical health and current problems. Your physiotherapy provider may ask you detailed questions concerning your injury, pain, or mobility concerns.

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When Should You Start Physiotherapy After a Car Wreck?

Right after a car accident, you might still be trying to get your bearings, attempting to make sense of what happened and what you should do. However, you should not delay in getting medical attention and helping your body recover after experiencing this type of physical trauma. While each case is unique and might be able to begin physiotherapy after only a couple of days, you should start physiotherapy within two weeks of the car accident to get the best results.

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What to Expect

Sometimes, people find physiotherapy to be difficult after a car accident. After all, you might be in significant pain, and you might have trouble doing the exercises at first. However, if you know what to expect, it's often easier to accept the challenges. Then, once you get better, you will realize physio was worth it.

Evaluation, Diagnosis, and Testing

Here's what might happen at your first physiotherapy appointment. After the physiotherapy provider and you discuss your symptoms and issues with functioning, they may do some physical tests. These might include:

• Testing your range of motion
• Assessing your strength
• Checking the stability of your joints and ligaments
• Testing your reflexes
• Discovering if you have any loss of sensation
• Testing your nerves
• Determining if you have any swelling
• Using palpitation to find out what body parts are tender

The physiotherapy provider will then diagnose your condition based on their interview with you and the tests. They will create a treatment plan or add to an overall post-accident chiropractic treatment plan. Before beginning the treatment, they will spend some time explaining their treatment plan and educating you about your condition. Next comes the treatment.

Physiotherapy Modalities

Physiotherapy uses several different methods and techniques to help you heal and recover after a car accident:

• Therapeutic exercises
• Massage
• Heat or cold therapy
• Electrotherapy, such as with a TENS unit
• Manual therapy
• Magnetic therapy
• Ultrasound
• Joint mobilization
• Strengthening exercises
• Range of motion exercise
• Hydrotherapy
• Stretching exercises
• Traction
• Exercising with resistance tubing
• Training at home

Your physiotherapy provider might begin with treatments that ease uncomfortable symptoms, including pain. However, once you get a little relief, they will look for underlying problems and treat those. Once your physiotherapy is complete, you should feel much more like your pre-injury self or even better in some cases.

After the physical parts of the treatment, your physiotherapy provider sends you home with a training packet so that you can exercise on your own between appointments. They might also recommend that you continue these exercises to reduce your later vulnerability to injuries.

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How Physiotherapy Helps After a Car Accident

Physiotherapy after a car accident can help you in a number of ways. Here are a few of the benefits you can gain from physiotherapy after car accident injuries:

• Avoid surgery, which might be risky and costly
• Decrease or stop the pain
• Increase strength
• Improve flexibility
• Help you bounce back from the accident faster
• Regain your usual range of motion
• Work out stiffness
• Treat headaches
• Increase mobility
• Help you avoid using prescription pain medications
• Prevent long-term problems like chronic pain

Another great benefit of physiotherapy is that it keeps you active. Otherwise, you might lie around waiting for your injuries to go away magically. Also, physiotherapy helps you get back to normal functioning gradually so that you don't overdo it to the extent that you halt your progress.

Physiotherapy is a proven way to increase the speed of your healing. So, physiotherapy after a car accident can get you back to your pre-accident condition as quickly as possible.

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Choosing a Physiotherapy Provider

Choosing a provider for physiotherapy after a car accident requires some fact-gathering and thoughtful consideration. To get the most benefit from physio, you need a highly skilled, well-trained, and experienced physiotherapy provider. Another thing to think about is whether they are a part of a team that can provide other services you need after a car accident, such as chiropractic care.

Excellence in Health is a chiropractic clinic that not only offers chiropractic services, but also massage therapy, physiotherapy, exercise therapy, intermittent traction, and pain management. So, we can provide you with a full spectrum of care for your auto injury.

We accept many types of insurance and serve patients from diverse backgrounds. We schedule your appointments at a convenient time for you. Furthermore, we don't expect you to accept treatment you don't understand at all. That's why we are devoted to educating our patients, as well as the Anchorage community, about wellness issues and our services.

Our team goal is always to improve your health, whether you have been in a car accident, sustained another type of injury, or need help with general wellness. Working together, our EIH team provides you with total physical care that is customized to meet your individual needs.

Dr. William Ross and Dr. Blue Ross provide leadership and chiropractic care at Excellence in Health. Voted Best of Alaska in 2019 and 2020, our clinic is committed to giving you the ideal treatments for your particular injuries, pains, and movement issues. Our team can help you recover from the car accident and get back to enjoying your life and health again!

Are you looking for the best treatment after a car accident? Reach out to Excellence in Health for physiotherapy and more!