How many automobile crashes occur per year and how many involve injury?
Overall, there were 6,756,000 crashes nationwide in 2019. Of the total, 1,916,000 resulted in injury. Whiplash is a very common injury occurring in automobile crashes. The statistics on just this one injury type are staggering. “In the longest study ever performed on whiplash-injured patients (a study looking at the health status 17 years after injury), 55% of the patients still suffered from pain caused by the original trauma. (Accident Analysis and Prevention, 2002)” (3)
Chiropractors have the proper training to assess your injury following an auto injury. They have training in MRI, Orthopedic evaluation, and X-ray interpretation. Chiropractic students undergo rigorous training and education, comparable to the hours dedicated to medical training. They both have around 3,065 hours of training total. However, the focus of their training differs, with each profession emphasizing different areas. Chiropractic puts more of an emphasis on anatomy, diagnosis, microbiology, neurology, and orthopedics. Medical students put more of an emphasis on chemistry, obstetrics, pathology, physiology, and psychiatry. The exact same amount of time is spent studying radiology. Chiropractors spend almost double the amount of hours studying diagnosis, giving them extensive knowledge in spinal pathology diagnosis and treatment. A well-trained chiropractor is also able to understand that medicine is sometimes needed, and possesses the ability to work with medical doctors. Click here to see statistics
Primary care providers are typically where people think to go after a whiplash injury or a car collision. They are very well trained to handle things such as heart disease, diabetes, treating illness, and other issues. They lack training on how to handle trauma or injury cases associated with trauma. Due to the nature and the amount of patients they are expected to see, they may not have half an hour or an hour to spend on the initial examination.
The reason that our office is set apart from other chiropractic offices in this realm is the possibility of serious injury that can occur in a car crash that an average chiropractic clinic may not be trained enough to detect. Dr. Gorski is fellowship trained in spinal biomechanics and trauma. He is also trauma qualified, hospital based spinal care qualified, and MRI interpretation and review qualified. This gives Dr. Gorski a unique ability as a chiropractor such as:
Therefore when you are searching for a Chiropractor to see following an auto injury, be sure to find one that is properly trained to work with other providers. Your chiropractor should not hesitate to send you for proper testing following injury.
Types of injuries that must be differentiated after enduring a trauma such as an auto injury include:
Properly trained chiropractors possess the ability to triage patients with these types of injuries, allowing patients to receive the care they need.
Chiropractors are a great option following auto injury because of their impact on opioid use and prescription. This allows patients to come see a provider whose only means of treatment is to prescribe them medication that is potentially harmful or addictive without exhausting the conservative measures that they have available to them first. Although this is important we also acknowledge that medication has its place, when needed our chiropractors are trained to detect these circumstances and direct patients somewhere that may prescribe the medication that the patient needs to help their pain and enhance their care.
It is important to understand that there is a mechanical aspect of spine injuries that medication does not solve, we have seen this with the opioid crisis. Understanding that mechanical problems present an issue in the spine and can be a root cause of the pain being experienced is where chiropractors can help.
Do you like cheaper healthcare? If so, chiropractic is a great option for you, we are known to decrease the cost of healthcare. This is done with a lower cost of treatment while being highly effective and safe.
Finally, how can chiropractic care be of help for the injury acquired during the crash?
Chiropractors offer spinal adjustments that are specific to your pain to enhance stability, mobility, and pain relief. Not only this but there are conservative treatment options that chiropractic is able to provide to aid in pain relief and healing. These options include:
Here at Elite Family Chiropractic, there are 4 promises that we make to every patient.
