Soft Tissue Injury Symptoms, Types, And Treatment Options
If you were involved in a motor vehicle accident, your treatment plan will depend on the type and severity of your injuries. The chiropractor at the injury rehab clinic can play an important role in both diagnosing and treating your injuries without invasive procedures or prescription drugs. Here are some symptoms and types of soft tissue injuries as well as some chiropractic treatment options that will be available to you at the injury rehab clinic.
Soft Tissue Injury Symptoms
Soft tissue injuries resulting from a car accident may manifest immediately or days after your accident. In some cases, it can take up to a few weeks before soft tissue injuries become symptomatic. Even if you have sought treatment from the hospital emergency department and were released, be on the lookout for any new pain, swelling, bruising, or limitations in mobility or range of motion. Symptoms of soft tissue injuries may include headaches, neck pain, muscle spasms, and paresthesia of your arms and legs.
While these are some of the most common symptoms of a soft tissue injury, you may also experience, dizziness, lightheadedness, nausea, and vomiting. If you develop any symptoms of soft tissue injuries after your auto accident, make an appointment with a chiropractor at an injury rehab clinic, who will perform a comprehensive examination and develop a treatment plan to relieve your pain and other symptoms so that you can quickly return to your normal activities of daily living.
Types Of Accident-Related Soft Tissue Injuries
Car accidents can prevent you from performing your job and other activities. A prompt assessment by your chiropractic physician will help him or her determine if you have a soft tissue injury such as a whiplash injury, a pulled muscle, sprain, a torn rotator cuff, or a severe contusion. In addition to a comprehensive spinal and soft tissue examination, your chiropractor may also recommend x-rays or an ultrasound to confirm your diagnosis.
Other common injuries related to car accidents include disc herniations, wrist injuries, muscle strains, kidney injuries, and torn ligaments. If you sustained a head injury as a result of hitting the windshield, you may also have sustained a soft tissue injury to the brain. While brain injuries can be asymptomatic, they often cause vision loss, unsteady gain, vomiting, and severe headaches.
Treatment Options For Soft Tissue Injuries
Your injury clinic rehab chiropractor can offer you a number of non-invasive treatment options without the risk of side effects from prescription pain medications. These include spinal manipulation treatments, therapeutic massage, ice therapy, physical therapy, and heat treatments. Spinal decompression, acupuncture, and acupressure may also be recommended to relieve pain, restore your mobility, improve your gait, and promote better posture after a neck injury.
While your chiropractor will not prescribe narcotic pain medication to relieve your symptoms, he or she may recommend that you take an over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medication such as ibuprofen to help enhance the results of your treatments. If you are unable to take ibuprofen because it upsets your stomach, you can take acetaminophen, which will help reduce your pain. However, it will do little to reduce soft tissue swelling or joint inflammation.
Also, if your soft injuries are associated with blurred vision, neurological deficits, bladder or bowel incontinence, or loss of consciousness, the chiropractic physician may refer you back to your primary care physician or recommend that you see a neurologist for further diagnostic testing and treatment.
If you were involved in a motor vehicle accident and have sustained a soft tissue injury, make an appointment with your chiropractic physician. When soft tissue injuries are diagnosed and treated early on, you will be less likely to develop permanent mobility deficits.