With all the traffic on Highway 36, it is not surprising that the number of whiplash and car accident injuries has dramatically increased over the past couple of years. After a car accident, many people are overwhelmed with the police report, damage to their car, and dealing with insurance, that they forget to take care of themselves. Sometimes people have symptoms like neck pain, vertigo, and headaches right away and others don’t have any symptoms till weeks or months later. I see a lot of people make 3 critical mistakes after a car accident. Here are 3 things you should never do after a car accident.

1. Not Make a Claim

Did you know that most people have insurance on your auto policy that covers an average of $5,000 of medical coverage? This insurance is called Med pay. Like I said earlier, some people have symptoms right away and some people “feel fine” at first and then slowly develop symptoms later. When you get into an auto accident one of the first steps you should take is making a claim with your auto insurance company. This way you can get the care you need and avoid lasting symptoms and issues from your car accident injuries down the road. No need to still feel the accident years after is happened!

2. Not Seeking Any Treatment

After a car accident, you have a lot of adrenaline in your body. Your “fight or flight” mechanism in your brain allows you to deal with the trauma of a whiplash. This is why many people feel shaken up, but not necessarily hurt. I’m sure you have heard of stories of people totaling their car and walking away without any injuries. That simply is impossible. An impact as slow as 12 mph can cause damage to soft tissue. People might “feel fine” right after a car accident, but there absolutely has been soft tissue damage. When this damage occurs your body produces scar tissue to secure and stabilize this damage. Because of this scar tissue, you lose mobility in your neck and that can lead to neck pain, headaches, vertigo, post-concussion syndrome, numbness, and increase anxiety. 

3. Not Seeking Out an Expert in Car Accident Injuries

Managing whiplash or any kind of soft tissue car accident injury is not an easy task. In fact, if you seek medical care from someone who is not used to handling auto accidents, they can make your condition worse.  When deciding who you should seek out for care there are a few questions you need to ask them:
1. Do you know how to bill med pay to my auto insurance?
If they do not know how to document properly and bill incorrectly, you are going to be on the hook for the bill at the end. 
2. Do you use objective measurement to make sure you are providing the best care?
After an injury to soft tissue, it is super important that your provider uses objective measurements to measure your progress. These tests can be motion x-rays, brain function analysis, or range of motion. This is vital to your progression under care, and if you decide to hire a lawyer, objective measurements help build a case for you.
3. What is the success of other patients you have treated in the past?
You should do a little research on the success of other people that have been in the office before. You should check their Yelp and Google reviews. See if they have videos of other people who have been in car accidents and that are suffering from similar issues that you are. Soft tissue car accident injuries are no joke. Be sure the person you are trusting with your ongoing health has the trust of others first. 
I know being in a car accident can be overwhelming and scary, but the good news is there are experts to help you along the way.  Here at Atlas Chiropractic of Boulder we have helped many people get through the difficulty of a car accident injury.  If you have a chance to look at our reviews you will see that people love it here. The secret to our success is we use very specialized objective measurements to test bio-mechanics and brain function.  This allows us to tailor care to each individual and make a plan to get you feeling better as fast as possible. The only insurance that we accept in our office is Med pay. We can give you the most up to date advanced care and you don’t even have to pay for it out of pocket.  Sound fair enough?

If you have been in an auto accident or have sustained a whiplash give us a call today to set up a free 15 min consultation with one of our expert doctors at 303-442-5911 

About Atlas Chiropractic of Boulder
At Atlas Chiropractic of Boulder we are not only concerned about your symptoms, but also you as a person and what is important to you. We know that not everyone’s the same and not everyone has the same goals. It is important to us that we present a chiropractic care plan that works for you and is tailored to you and your health concerns.

We’re a specialty Boulder Chiropractor focused on back pain, neck pain, vertigo, and migraine headaches. Our patients visit our Boulder office from all over Northern Colorado, including, Longmont, Erie, Superior, Lafayette, Niwot, Louisville, Broomfield, and Denver, Colorado.

Contact Atlas Chiropractic of Boulder today to schedule a free evaluation. Specialized upper cervical chiropractic care is by no means a “hail Mary” solution, but if you haven’t yet seen Dr. Bremner, you’re nowhere close to running out of options.