Dealing with the Details after a Car Accident.

Dealing with the details after a car accident is never easy. One of the earliest phases of a car accident injury is getting information together. It’s vital that all the important details don’t get forgotten. Seemingly small things – like which way your head was turned at the time of impact – can amount to serious clues for how injury occurred. Just writing down the detail that you were wearing your safety belt can provide a world of confidence. In the clinic, measuring ranges of motion, the tension and spasm in muscles and recording any pain complaints creates a database of information to inform your recovery.  At the same time, we are helping you gather the materials so that you can assemble a proper insurance claim with the responsible parties considered. Our insurance specialists will help you understand the mechanics of an insurance claim and how to protect yourself. Even if you are considered responsible for the accident, you can get care which should be covered by your policy. We will help you to understand and sort out these details. The first step is making an appointment. 

Motor Vehicle Accidents take you by surprise.

Motor Vehicle Accidents (MVAs), car crashes, wrecks and fender benders all take a person by surprise. Almost nobody is ever ready for one of these  – except us. With over 25 years of experience in unwinding case details to help our patients recover their body composure, live functionally without pain, return to work, or understand disabilities or impairments, the clinic is always ready to help. While accidents interrupt your flow, we aim to help get that flow started again. Insurance claims are never fun, but we work with our patients to help them navigate all of the details. Our intention is getting you the care you need and helping you get your bills paid. Insurance cases, which are inherently medical-legal, often involve lawyers and legal issues. While these can seem scary, we help sort them out in a way that takes the edge off so you can make the right decisions. We will encourage and assist you to obtain the best advisors and help you interpret what you are seeing and hearing – not just what you are feeling.

What if I have multiple injuries? My whole body hurts.

Injuries in car accident cases are often multiple and involve different parts of the body. In the case of a sprained ankle, the problem is usually easy to spot – the ankle. In a car accident, where you were thrown into the seatbelt, your elbow slammed into the window frame, and the airbag snapped your head and neck backwards while you seat slid forward, injuring your low back – we have multiple things going on. It’s our job to tease them apart and have a treatment plan set up to address each one. We will make a decision if an X-ray study will help, if one was not taken at Urgent Care. Occasionally, a patient experience numbness and tingling or shooting pains and we need an MRI to document nerve damage. We have care modalities to address all of these things, and ways to measure both the extent of injury and the extent of recovery. We will help to you get properly excused from work if that’s possible and necessary, so that you can get time to recover. 

What kind of treatments will I have?

Acute injury treatment plans almost always are staged into immediate traumatic injury response, then as the healing begins, the plan will modify. What might have been electrical muscle stimulation for pain and spasm might become soft tissue massage and exercises for recovery. Gentle spinal and extremity manipulation and soft tissue myofascial release help you to recover functionality and mobility, and decrease muscle shortening or scar tissue formation. Exercise plans are staged in levels and progressed as your healing progresses. In addition to traditional physiotherapy exercises, we may merge in Yoga strategies, Tai Chi, and Chi Gung as well as breathing techniques. 

Is the care plan all the same every Session?

Your care plan changes every time your presentation changes; that’s why we talk to you about how you are. If you improve, we can streamline your treatment plan; if you plateau, we can get more granular. We aim to re-examine your recovery at least every three weeks so your care progresses with you.  If we have to re-examine you at every office visit, we will – so you get the care you need.

Is Blue Heron Chiropractic masking for the COVID-19 Pandemic at this time?

While we are sensitive to folks with immune compromise, we are no longer requiring patients to mask for the Covid 19 Pandemic. The new increased incidence of the Eris subvariant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has also shown that most of our community populations have responded well with immunities and vaccination. We are still sensitive for folks who are immune compromised, have “Long Covid”, or need special considerations. A patient can wear their own mask at any time, and If you would like a mask and don’t have one, we can provide it.  Staff and Doctor Sibilla may continue to wear a mask for some time. We may ask some questions and temperature scan if a patient has flu-like symptoms – but we would have done that anyway – because this is a doctor’s office, right? In any event, it’s easy enough to do, and provides more information. We will continue to encourage patients with notable flu-like symptoms to contact us before coming in so we can coordinate all aspects to serve you better. You can access Chiropractic safely and securely at Blue Heron Chiropractic & Healing Arts Center, with Dr. Dana Sibilla, DC DABCO FIANM.