Just because a car accident is minor, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take your pain seriously.
Even collisions at speeds as slow as 15 or 20 miles per hour can cause serious injuries, because our bodies are not equipped to handle such sudden increases in momentum.
If you’re experiencing lower back pain after any vehicle accident, it’s worth visiting a Pembroke Pines chiropractor to understand exactly what is causing the pain and get help finding relief.
And if you want to learn more about how to better manage your lower back pain, keep reading for some valuable information.
What Causes Low Back Pain from a Car Accident?
Because the low back is more flexible and mobile than the middle and upper back, it’s easier for the lower back to become injured — both in day-to-day life and in traumatic events like a car accident.
If you’re experiencing lower back pain after a car accident, it could be the result of a spinal injury to your vertebrae or spinal discs, or it could be caused by an injury to the muscles, ligaments, tendons, or nerves surrounding your spine.
Keep in mind that many lower back injuries cause similar symptoms, so it’s important to get checked out by a chiropractor who can help you understand the underlying cause and severity of your pain. Some of the most common lower back injuries are:
A herniated disc happens when one of the discs that sits between each vertebra in the spine is ruptured or slips out of place. This movement can push on nearby nerves, causing pain, numbness, and tingling.
Though herniation can happen in any part of the spine, it’s especially common in the lumbar spine (lower back).
Not only are herniated discs painful, but they can lead to other degenerative conditions if they are left untreated. If you think you might be experiencing pain from a herniated disc, don’t wait to visit your Pembroke Pines chiropractor.
- Fractured Vertebrae
A spinal fracture might sound scary, but they’re not always as serious as you might think. If you’re experiencing low back pain after an accident, you may not even realize that you’re walking around with a fractured vertebra — especially if it hasn’t caused a spinal cord injury.
If you’re experiencing lower back pain that worsens when you move, you may be suffering from a fractured vertebra. Many of the other common back injuries will slightly improve with movement.
- Muscle Strains, Ligament Sprains, and Tears
If you’re experiencing soreness, swelling, and a limited range of motion in your lower back, you may be dealing with a strain, a sprain, or a tear to a muscle, ligament, or tendon. These injuries all have similar symptoms and can vary in levels of severity, so it’s important to get an expert opinion.
A strain happens when a muscle or a tendon (the tissue connecting a muscle to bone) is stretched or begins to tear. A sprain is when that stretching or tearing happens to a ligament (the tissue connecting two bones together).
Some strains and sprains will heal on their own, but in more severe cases, they may require care from a chiropractor to help speed up the healing process and prevent future reinjury.
- Osteoarthritis
When you fracture your spine, tear a ligament, or experience another acute injury in a car accident, this can cause post-traumatic arthritis, which may develop months or even years after the initial incident.
This happens when the cartilage protecting your bones wears down over time, causing the bones in a joint to painfully rub against each other.
Even if your accident happened a long time ago, the pain you’re experiencing now may be connected. At Rush Chiropractic and Rehab, we take the time to fully understand your history and do our best to help you identify the source of your pain, so we can treat it more effectively.
How a Pembroke Pines Chiropractor Can Treat Lower Back Pain
Did you know that chiropractors do much more than just chiropractic adjustment? When you visit a chiropractor for back pain, you gain access to a wide variety of treatment options.
Chiropractors are also often able to treat back injuries without the use of pain medication, which doesn’t solve your injuries but instead just masks the pain. At Rush Chiropractic, we frequently use treatment methods like:
- Chiropractic adjustment: Applying controlled force to hypomobile joints to help restore the range of motion
- Electrical muscle stimulation: A technique where we send mild electrical pulses into target areas to help loosen tight muscles and reduce pain.
- Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) stretching
- Spinal decompression therapy: A method that gently stretches the spine to promote faster healing and allow discs and joints to realign naturally.
Whatever treatment is right for you, we’ll work with you to develop a plan that will help you find both short-term pain relief and long-term healing. We even offer physical therapy and exercise and nutrition advice to help you get back to feeling like your best self.
Call a Pembroke Pines Chiropractor to Start Your Healing Journey Now
Too many people suffer with back pain for longer than they need to, but you don’t have to be one of them. There are options available to help you find relief, no matter how long you’ve been in pain or how minor your injury might seem to you.
Give Dr. Rush a call now at 954-432-5006 to schedule a consultation and see for yourself how chiropractic care can help you manage your lower back pain after your car accident.
Dr. Rush is a 1994 graduate of the University of Florida where he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Exercise Sports Science and Wellness.
Dr. Rush earned his Doctor of Chiropractic Degree at Life University in 2000 where he was honored with magna cum laude. Dr. Rush was born and raised in South Florida where he returned after graduation. He currently practices in Pembroke Pines where he owns and operates Rush Chiropractic and Rehab.
