Vehicle accidents happen, and thousands of people across the U.S. are injured yearly. Unfortunately, too many individuals fail to care for their injuries properly and cause their injuries to worsen. If you’ve been involved in a car crash, you’ll want to follow the below tips to help your body heal quickly.
Assess the Situation
You may be in shock immediately after your accident. If you’re able, assess the situation without moving out of the vehicle. This can help you determine if your injuries are serious or it’s just a minor fender bender. You’ll also want to call the authorities, especially if you or any of the other parties have been injured, and you require immediate medical assistance. If you have health complications such as heart disease or other illnesses, try to stay calm until help arrives. A witness to the collision may help ease your worry until you’ve been looked over by a physician. The innocent bystanders at the scene of the accident may also prove helpful when the police are collecting evidence and a full account of the incident.
Seek Treatment
Sometimes people who have been involved in a car accident failed to the get the proper treatment for their injuries. An accident victim may think their injuries are minor and forego an exam. If you’ve been seen by a doctor, the physician may also misdiagnose your symptoms. If you’ve received the wrong treatment or misdiagnosis, a medical mistake injury could result in serious complications or death. You can prevent becoming a statistic by communicating with your physician thoroughly. You may also feel more comfortable having the physician put you symptoms down in writing. If you feel uncertain about the prescribed medication or treatment method, don’t be afraid to question the authority. If your injuries or symptoms become worse, seek immediate medical follow-up.
Rest
It can be difficult to avoid activity after an accident, especially if you’re normally an active person. But one of the biggest mistakes accident victims make is going back to work too soon. Your body has been through a traumatic experience, and it needs adequate time to rest and relax. If you return to regular activity too soon, you can take a minor situation and turn it into something serious.
Try Physical Therapy
If you have to get back to a normal routine quickly, you may want to try physical therapy. The skilled experts will be able to introduce light exercises into your day-to-day routine. After getting your physician’s approval, meet with the physical therapist and discuss your problematic areas. Based on your discussion, the therapist will be able to develop a regimen of light movements and stretching to alleviate muscle stiffness and promote joint flexibility. They may also incorporate massage therapy to the injured muscles. After a period of time, the therapist will be able to assess your progress and determine if more work on the body is necessary. You may even be advised to take natural supplements to ease inflammation caused by the accident. Omega-3, curcumin and vitamin C can all help accelerate the speed at which the body heals.
Treat Your Emotions
Car accidents can be just as debilitating to the body mentally as it is physically. If you’ve developed posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after your vehicle crash, you may be experiencing sleep disturbances, moodiness, anxiety, depression and nightmares reliving the traumatic event. You may even find it challenging to get behind the wheel of your vehicle. If your symptoms worsen or won’t go away, you need to seek help from a professional. A therapist will be able to talk over the incident with you and find exercises that can ease the mental anguish.
Be Patient
Although you may want to get back to some semblance of normalcy after your crash, you need to be patient. It can take time for your body to fully acknowledge the extent of your crash injuries. It can also take between 8 to 12 weeks for the tissues of your muscles to repair. It may take an even longer amount of time for your mental anxiety to heal. Until you’re feeling like yourself, embrace your feelings and take the required time to get well again.
If you’ve been involved in an accident, you’re going to face a series of challenges. But one of the biggest obstacles to recover from after a crash is your physical and mental injuries. The above tips will show you how to monitor your progress and help you cope with the trauma of this life altering event.
