Reviewed by Dr. Kyle Campbell
When used as a treatment for adults with acute or chronic back pain, migraines, or other symptoms, regular chiropractic care can be a very effective treatment. But what are the specific benefits you can expect and how often do you need to go to a chiropractor to feel them? Keep reading to learn more.
How Often Should You See A Chiropractor?
The answer to this depends on several factors — particularly the cause of your visit. Are you treating an injury from a specific event (like a car accident), or looking to improve your overall mobility and health over time? Frequency will also be influenced by the level of pain you feel and what long-term goals you have. For acute injuries, we typically recommend two to three visits per week to make sure your body is healing properly. For less severe discomfort, once per week may be enough to keep you on track. Most patients start to see significant results after 4-8 visits, with longer-term benefits typically becoming more evident after 10-12 sessions.
Contact a chiropractor near you to determine the best treatment plan and frequency for you.
Benefits of Chiropractic Care After a Car Accident
If you’ve been in a car accident, you may have been treated by medical experts at the scene. Unfortunately, many people don’t think about visiting a chiropractor as well. Chiropractors specialize in damage to the musculoskeletal system, which is important to carefully evaluate after a traumatic event like a crash. Common car accident injuries like whiplash, back injuries, and even broken bones can all be treated by a car accident chiropractor.
Finding “Invisible” Injuries
When you’ve been in a car accident, the stress spikes your adrenaline and may even put you into shock. Both of these things can prevent you from feeling pain and other symptoms of an injury right away. This is why it’s crucial to visit a doctor as soon as possible after an accident — even if you aren’t experiencing any symptoms.
For example, many people in car accidents experience whiplash. Unfortunately, it can be difficult for many general doctors to diagnose. This is why it’s what many refer to as an “invisible” injury, because symptoms are often delayed by hours or even days. Car accident injury chiropractors understand how to identify whiplash and treat it before symptoms start to appear, saving you time and discomfort.
Treat Pain Non-Invasively & Without Medication
Chiropractic care is all-natural and uses non-invasive treatments for car accident injuries. This can include chiropractic adjustments, ultrasound therapy, massage therapy, spinal decompression, and supportive stretches and exercises. It also means drug-free treatment plans so you can avoid the potentially harmful side effects of prescription pain medications. In addition to avoiding addiction, these painkillers also often only mask the sensation and don’t actually address the cause of that pain. Working with a chiropractor targets the physical cause of your pain or discomfort for lasting relief.
Reduce Scar Tissue & Range of Motion Issues
Scar tissue often builds up on the muscles after car accidents, which reduces range of motion. Inflammation from this can also slow healing because nutrients can’t reach damaged areas as effectively. Chiropractors know how to reduce the amount of scar tissue by breaking down collagen in affected areas. This reduces the size and the amount of scarring, so your body heals more quickly and doesn’t have any lingering pain or stiffness.
Less Inflammation
A car accident can strain and damage soft tissues in your body like muscles, tendons, ligaments, and spinal discs. Muscle and tissue sprains can cause painful stretches and even tears, with the body responding by initiating swelling and inflammation. When a chiropractor realigns your spine, anti-inflammatory chemicals are released that allow blood to reach injured areas more quickly. This is how chiropractors address the root cause so your body can heal more effectively.
Long-Term Benefits
When visiting a chiropractor after a car accident, they won’t just treat the symptoms you are currently experiencing. You can expect a comprehensive approach to your treatment and care so that you can have lasting relief. For example, they can treat minor injuries that other doctors may not notice and would otherwise become major problems if left untreated. A chiropractor will not only help you heal from your immediate injuries but also help you develop strategies to gain strength, improve your mobility, and even prevent future injuries.
Benefits Of Regular Chiropractic Care
As we just mentioned, chiropractors can provide a variety of benefits for your long-term wellness goals beyond car accident recovery. It’s more than just neck and back pain relief — you can see benefits to blood pressure, the immune system, pain reduction, mental health, and more. Regular chiropractic care is a low-risk and non-invasive treatment option that gives you symptom relief while building a long-term plan for wellness.
Chronic Pain Relief
One of the best uses of a chiropractor and regular treatments is to help relieve chronic joint pain caused by everyday life. Neck pain is uncomfortable and can make things as simple as sleeping difficult. And with so many people working desk jobs (either in an office or at home), there’s a higher prevalence of hunched necks that cause neck pain. Chiropractors can help relieve this with adjustments and soft tissue massages.
Another example is that misalignments in your wrist joint can contribute to carpal tunnel syndrome, so wrist joint adjustments can help relieve this discomfort. Chiropractic adjustments are safe and natural ways to address the root cause of your pain and discomfort so you can experience lasting relief.
Improve Range Of Motion
Chiropractic care can facilitate faster recovery times and improve your range of motion to a better level than pre-injury. Reducing inflammation, decreasing oxidative stress, relieving muscle tension, and increasing energy levels are just some of the ways athletes can see improvements from regular chiropractic sessions. You may also notice that your athletic performance is better as well, allowing you to get back to enjoying exercising more.
Reduce Headache Symptoms
There are several types of headaches, with tension headaches (the most common type) showing significant improvement from chiropractic adjustments. This is because tension headaches are caused by excessive stress and tension in the muscles of the head, neck, and shoulders. One of the main goals of chiropractic adjustments is to help relieve muscle and joint tension, directly reducing the causes we just mentioned.
Cervicogenic headaches are another type that can see improvements from chiropractic care. These result from poor blood flow, lack of oxygenation, and spinal misalignments. Chiropractic adjustments can help relieve these root causes and provide longer-term relief from the pain.
Mitigate Pain Reliever Dependency
Something we mentioned earlier in relation to car accident pain relief is dependency on painkillers. Long-term usage of both over-the-counter and prescription pain relievers can be incredibly harmful to your overall health. As we’ve seen across the country, chronic pain patients are often given opioid prescriptions that lead to addiction and lasting damage to their bodies.
However, there is evidence that patients who see both their regular doctor and a chiropractor need to fill their prescriptions less frequently, mitigating damage from long-term and frequent use. For less severe pain where opioids aren’t needed, chiropractors may eliminate the need for painkillers altogether.
Improve Posture & Overall Well-Being
Lastly, chiropractors can help improve your overall posture and relieve pain associated with sitting at a desk for long hours. When your joints are properly aligned, you experience less pain and discomfort, which can affect how you carry yourself and what kind of activities you participate in. When you find relief from the benefits discussed above, your overall wellness improves because you have more energy to put toward things you truly enjoy.
Chiropractic Care for Long-Term Wellness
Our approach to chiropractic care is a collaborative and comprehensive one. At Pro-Care, we understand that every patient is unique and responds to treatment differently. Our chiropractors collaborate with other specialists at Pro-Care to give you the best possible comprehensive care. Whether you’ve been in a car accident recently or are looking towards longer-term wellness goals, find a location near you or book an appointment online today!
