Pain Management at Ohio Therapy Centers
When you’re in a car accident, the forces from the accident can cause your body to experience more stress than usual. This additional stress can result in a number of soft tissue injuries, such as sprains, strains, contusions, and tears. The symptoms of these injuries are sometimes obvious right after an accident, other times, they may take a while to appear.
Regardless if you feel immediate or delayed pain, it’s important to seek pain management after a car accident as soon as possible.
Seeing a doctor who specializes in pain management will help prevent further injury and allows you to quickly begin treatment. It also minimizes the risks that come with not seeing a doctor after an auto accident.
If you don’t see a doctor right away, the insurance company may not cover the expenses associated with your injury, you might waive the right to personal injury coverage, you may be unable to pursue legal action, or you might have health complications.
Symptoms may take hours or even days to appear, especially if the accident was not a major one. In fact, many of the common injuries that occur from a car accident will take some time to fully present themselves.
Common Delayed Injuries
- Whiplash – neck pain or stiffness
- Headaches
- Back pain
- Extremities pain (wrists, elbows, knees)
- Shoulder pain
- Impaired thinking or memory (mild traumatic brain injury/concussion)
Treatment Options with Pain Management
Because many symptoms show up later, an individual involved in a car accident should seek care and pain relief from a pain management specialist as soon after the accident as possible.
At Ohio Therapy Centers, we conduct a thorough exam to determine if there is any underlying damage from the car accident. This exam may include X-rays or a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan to see what the extent of nerve or tissue damage there is.
Based on the results of the exam, the diagnosis, the severity of the injury, and the prognosis, the patient will receive a recommended treatment plan that includes any of the following.
Physical Pain Treatments
Potential physical pain treatment methods may include electrical stimulation therapy, anti-inflammatory (cortisone) injections, trigger-point injections (lidocaine or Botox), and nerve blocks.
Orthopedics
Orthopedic Care includes any injury or condition that is affecting your muscles, bones, cartilage, joints, tendons, or ligaments.
Combined Non-Surgical Orthopedic and Chiropractic Care is the conservative treatment of health problems without the use of sometimes addictive prescription drugs or surgery. We use more natural and less invasive forms of treatment with our patients. Our Doctors utilize advanced and traditional methods which are gentle, painless, and effective.
Chiropractic
Treatment is often in the form of a series of chiropractic adjustments to return the spine to its normal position and restore function to the nerves.
Chiropractic adjustments can restore the body’s equilibrium. The technique rarely causes any discomfort, and most patients find it rather enjoyable, providing an immediate feeling of relief.
Physical Rehabilitation
Physical rehabilitation involves exercises and stretches to help return normal function to the muscles and joints and improve the range of motion. Physical rehabilitation can help retrain and strengthen the muscles. It also helps encourage healing and assists with pain management.
Medical Massage
Ohio Therapy Centers uses massage in our treatment programs in an effort to provide the highest quality of care. Our massage therapists, who are trained in clinical massage, can use a variety of bodywork procedures appropriate to the person and/or condition being treated.
Most of these procedures will involve releasing the body from a dysfunctional holding pattern that has developed as the result of the client’s accommodating to a recent or old injury or misuse.
