Auto Accident Care with Chiropractic in Clarksville TN
After a car accident, the first job is making sure nothing serious was missed, and the warning signs below mean an emergency room, not our office. For muscle and joint symptoms without those signs, seeing a chiropractor is one possible next step, depending on what an assessment finds. At Source Chiropractic, we'll ask about the collision, your symptoms, and any emergency or medical care you've already had before we talk about treatment.
When a car accident needs the emergency room first
After a blow or jolt to the head or body, call 911 or go to an emergency room for a worsening headache, repeated vomiting, seizures, slurred speech, unusual confusion, weakness, pupils of different sizes, or trouble waking up. These can be warning signs of a serious brain injury.
If a neck injury leaves you unable to move an arm or hand, call 911, as MedlinePlus advises. Please don't put off emergency care to get an adjustment first.
Why car accident symptoms can show up later
Whiplash is a neck injury from a sudden movement of the head, and symptoms such as stiffness, headache, and shoulder or arm muscle pain can take hours to appear.
A concussion can also follow a jolt to the body. Dizziness, nausea, vision problems, trouble concentrating and changes in sleep can all happen, and some concussion symptoms don't show up for hours or days. A new symptom after a crash needs a medical check, not an assumption that it's all coming from your neck.
Our whiplash guide goes deeper on neck symptoms, assessment and recovery.
What should a whiplash assessment after a crash cover?
A whiplash assessment covers how the injury happened, how your neck moves, neurological signs, and any other injuries. Under the whiplash guidelines from SIRA, the motor accident regulator in New South Wales, Australia, decision rules guide the check for a possible fracture, and uncomplicated whiplash without neurological signs doesn't routinely need advanced imaging.
Bring your hospital discharge instructions, any imaging reports, and what other health professionals have recommended, and tell us what's changed since. We'll examine you for joint restriction, muscle tension, swelling and signs of nerve irritation, and refer you for a medical assessment if you need one.
We'll talk through questions like these:
- When did each symptom start, and is it changing?
- What's hard to do day to day right now?
- What care or medication have you already had?
- Is this something we treat, or does it need another doctor?
Does chiropractic care fit after an auto accident?
We offer hands-on care, so here's what the guidelines say about it. For whiplash that fits its criteria, SIRA recommends activity and suitable neck exercises. It rates the evidence for manual therapy as limited and says continuing should depend on measurable benefit.
If we recommend care, we'll go over what we found first, and the plan is built around you. Hands-on care is only one option, and the alternatives include the activity and neck exercises SIRA recommends. Good goals are concrete, like turning your head comfortably for a work task or getting back to something you usually do. If we are not able to help you with your problem or are unable to reduce your pain levels, we will make sure to give you a recommendation to another experienced provider.
Hands-on care has risks, and here's what's known about them. Manipulation can cause soreness or a headache, and serious neurological complications have been reported, though how often isn't known. Neck manipulation has also been linked with artery tears that can cause a stroke.
Questions after your first medical visit
Should I keep my discharge instructions?
Yes. Bring them to any follow-up, ours included, with any reports and your current medication list. Whoever sees you next needs to know if you couldn't follow a recommendation or a new symptom has appeared.
How do we tell if treatment is helping?
SIRA's guidelines tie continuing care to measurable benefit. Useful measures are tied to your symptoms or your day, like how far you can turn your head or how long you can sit at work. If those aren't changing, that's a reason to talk about a different approach or a medical referral.
If you have muscle or joint symptoms and none of the warning signs above, call our Clarksville office to set up a visit, and we'll talk through if our care fits what happened to you.
Follow the evidence
Research, with context.
Selected published sources behind what we've written, each with what it found and what it can't tell us. We give you both halves because no paper can diagnose you or predict how your own care will go.
Comprehensive physiotherapy exercise programme or advice for chronic whiplash (PROMISE): a pragmatic randomised controlled trial
172 people with grade I or II whiplash lasting more than three months.
What it foundAn intensive exercise program did not improve pain more than an advice session with telephone support at the measured follow-ups.
What it can't tell usIt compares two specific approaches to chronic whiplash. It isn't evidence that all exercise is useless, and it doesn't cover every acute injury.
Publication details & citation
Michaleff et al. Comprehensive physiotherapy exercise programme or advice for chronic whiplash (PROMISE): a pragmatic randomised controlled trial. The Lancet. 2014. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(14)60457-8.
Read the publication record
Our editorial policy explains how to read these sources and what our clinical-review labels mean.