The physicians and staff at Priebe chiropractic understand that being in an accident is physically traumatizing and emotionally stressful. Let our friendly and knowledgeable staff take the worry from you by working with your insurance carrier and attorney if needed. Removing the stress and worry allows you to focus fully on your treatment so you to recover quicker from your injury. Chiropractic care along with Massage Therapy and Rehabilitation Modalities has been shown to be highly effective when treating injuries associated with motor vehicle accidents such as Whiplash, low back pain and other numerous soft tissue injuries. Injuries from automobile accidents frequently have the following symptoms.

Headaches
Neck pain (Whiplash)
Muscle spasms
Mid back pain
Low back pain
Shoulder pain
Arm or leg pain
Extremity numbness or tingling

While some of these symptoms may seem mild at first, if gone untreated, they can decrease your quality of life and may even keep you from being able to work. During your first visit, our helpful and friendly staff will help you navigate the insurance process. Priebe Chiropractic doctors will do a thorough examination and address all of your complaints. Not all injuries or complaints will require X-ray imaging, but if our Chiropractors feel that they are necessary X-rays or an MRI may be ordered to determine the best course of action. Any necessary work releases or light duty orders will be issued. Most auto accident patients will be treated the first visit unless they need to be referred for imaging. Priebe chiropractic never needs a referral or prior approval to see you following a car accident and we can schedule you for a same day appointment. Our staff is trained in insurance processing and can make the process as simple as possible. Simply call for an appointment, bring in your insurance information and let us help you.

What is Whiplash?

The term whiplash is applied to a group of injuries occurring to the neck most commonly associated with car accidents. Whiplash occurs from the exaggerated S curve that occurs in the cervical spine during a collision. Studies have shown that whiplash can occur when someone is traveling as little as 5 mph and hits a solid object. The sudden exaggerated S curve allows Hyperextension of the neck both overstretches and damages the muscles and ligaments on the front of the neck as well as compressing the discs and intervertebral joints in the back of the neck. Low back injuries are common as well, and may be exemplified if the seat back or cushion were broken during impact. Due to the many variables involved in a car accident, (body position, angle of impact, etc.) a collection of seemingly unrelated symptoms can arise. The most common symptoms I see include

Neck pain and muscle spasm
Headaches
Radiating arm pain
Mid back pain, often between the shoulder blades
Low back pain and spasm
Buttock pain
Radiating leg pain / Sciatica

Many patients report that they felt fine when taking the other person’s information or talking with police, and were surprised when several days later they began to feel pain. It takes up to 72 hours to develop a typical inflammatory response. This inflammation commonly manifests as pain, swelling, and loss of motion. It may take up to a week before the majority of symptoms are present. It is not unusual for patients to remark that for the first couple days they had only neck pain. By the fifth day, they had developed low back pain that was even worse.

Patients who receive early treatment for whiplash recovery more quickly, report less pain, and are able to return to work with greater ease.