5 Reasons to Undergo Physical Therapy After a Car Accident

Car accidents can result in all kinds of physical and mental injuries. Some can last for years to come, while others just require a few months of follow-up care. However, serious injuries can change your life forever. 

In many cases, you can decrease the time that an injury affects you and your family by getting the proper medical follow-up care. One of those types of care is physical therapy. Although you may think that you can do exercises at home and it will have the same effect, physical therapy is much more beneficial for several reasons.

Understanding Physical Therapy 

According to annual road safety facts, roughly 4.4 million injuries resulting from car accidents require serious medical attention. Broken bones, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and deep cuts are all common after a severe car accident. Outside of medical care, these injuries can cause lasting and permanent damages to your body. 

Physical therapy, also referred to as physical rehabilitation, helps injured or ill people reclaim their physical abilities and bodily functions. In other words, the main goal of physical therapy is to ensure that any damage done to your body isn’t permanent. 

Why You Should Go to Physical Therapy

When you choose to go to physical therapy, you’re investing in your health and wellbeing. Car accidents can cause massive injuries that require a professional to help restore your body back to the same condition it was in prior to your accident. 

While you may worry about the cost, don’t stress too much. You can get your medical expenses, including physical therapy, compensated or reimbursed by filing a claim. There’s plenty of reasons why you should seek out physical therapy after receiving all of the treatment you need.

Speeding Up the Recovery Process

You may not understand just how severe your injuries after an accident are until you return to work or to your normal daily activities. Then, you may realize that you are sore, stiff, or that your range of motion has decreased. You may even suffer chronic pain in some areas and even headaches.

Physical therapy supports the recovery process by allowing you to rebuild the strength you lost while you were resting. It increases flexibility and helps decrease pain and soreness as well. Staying in bed without much movement may feel like it’s your best option, but you can actually do more harm than good by resting too much. The right type of physical therapy with a trained professional will help you get back on your feet faster and back to your regular routine. 

Decrease the Chances of Long-Term Physical Damage 

There are certain situations where your injuries after an accident will last for the rest of your life. But, evidence indicates that starting physical therapy right away after a crash decreases the possibility that your injuries from the accident will haunt you for years to come. 

Improving strength, flexibility, and mobility generally decreases the chances that you will develop chronic pain or mobility problems. However, those who don’t get immediate care have an increased risk of degenerative disc disease, arthritis, and chronic pain. 

Reduce Pain 

Physical therapy may be painful at first, but as your body gains strength and flexibility, you will actually feel less pain in your daily life as well. Movement encourages blood flow and gets oxygen to your sore, strained, or damaged muscles and ligaments. It allows the blood to get more nutrients to those areas, which makes recovery time faster.  

You are also less likely to experience chronic pain by letting the body heal itself early as well. Each exercise or maneuver has a specific targeted muscle or ligament when you go through targeted physical therapy. That type of work will help that area heal faster so you can gain mobility and function without pain. 

Avoid Invasive Medical Procedures 

With the right type of physical therapy work, you may be able to avoid more dramatic treatment options or life-altering, such as surgery. For example, although many car accident victims will require surgery right away after a collision, the damage to your body after an accident can also trigger the need for surgery down the road.  

Physical therapy can sometimes prevent the need for this future surgery, saving you time, money, and missed time away from work. In addition, because you work to strengthen and repair damaged muscles, ligaments, and tendons in physical therapy, you stop some of the natural deterioration that would have otherwise occurred. 

Evidence You Can Use to Prove Your Claim 

Physical therapy is demanding in terms of how often you must go. In some situations, you may need to be there a few times per week. That is a significant amount of time dedicated to recovering.  

Your physical therapist provides some great information in the medical records to document your efforts to improve during these sessions. This shows a jury that you are sincere about wanting to get back on your feet after an accident. It provides an excellent timeline of your overall treatment as well. 

Get Help After Your Car Accident from a Skilled Attorney

Getting the correct type of medical treatment after a car accident is vital to your recovery. John Foy & Associates can help you get the care you need, and we can gather information about your treatment to present to an insurance company, judge, or jury. Learn more about how we can help by calling today. Fill out the form to your right or call us to get your free consultation.