Car accidents are one of the top causes of injury in the U.S. The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) reports that in Washington state alone, more than 49,000 injuries occurred in car accidents in 2015. These injuries can often benefit from physical therapy.
Physical therapists can help you answer the question, “How long should I go to physical therapy after a car accident?” For one thing, they have extensive experience helping people recover from car accident injuries. These specialists also have many therapy methods at their disposal.
Three therapy methods that can reduce how long your post-car accident therapy takes
One of the main goals of physical therapy after a car accident is to reduce how long you must stay in therapy. Therapists can also help decrease the pain of your injuries, and they’ll also work to improve your ability to do normal daily tasks. There are many therapy techniques that therapists can use to work toward these goals. Three of the most commonly used of these techniques are:
- Manual therapy — After a car accident, injuries can make it harder for you to move. Manual therapy is a type of hands-on therapy, and one way it can help is to improve your mobility. Therapists use manual therapy movements to stretch muscles and other soft tissue. They can also use them to improve the mobility of joints.
- Therapeutic exercises — This therapy method is one of the most commonly used for car accident injuries. Therapeutic exercises are designed to stretch the tension from injured muscles. They’re also intended to help increase blood flow to your injury. More blood in the area also means more oxygen and nutrients, which can supercharge the body’s natural healing processes. Additionally, higher blood flow can help flush away toxins that could slow your healing.
Whatcom Physical Therapy can help decrease how long your physical therapy takes after a car accident
Our Whatcom Physical Therapy team is committed to helping you spend the shortest possible time in therapy after a car accident injury. Our team can get you started with your therapy faster thanks to our free screening service. Data gathered from this screening allows us to build you the most beneficial personalized therapy plan, and your plan could include therapy methods like:
- Instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization (IASTM)
- Manual therapy
- Kinesio Taping®
- Therapeutic exercises
Contact our team today for more information or to schedule an initial appointment to start treating your car accident injury.