How to Prevent a Car Accident Injury from Throwing Your Life Out of Balance
Car accidents are no joke! Even if it's a minor bender fender, this kind of event can derail your life in ways you probably wouldn't even expect. With these incidents come a whole slew of things to do on your already full plate: filing a report to the police; getting emergency treatment; filing a claim with ICBC; paying for the costs of repairs to your vehicle; the list goes on. It's all a huge amount of stress for everyone involved, most especially you.
Did you know you can take some measures to prevent a car accident from having too serious an impact? So long as you take certain precautions before getting into your car every time you need to be on the road, you can keep yourself safe from such injuries happening. Here are some more tips you can follow.
Always, always wear your seatbelt, and wear it properly
It's the law to wear your seatbelt and it can save lives as well. Also, as it turns out, there is in fact a wrong way to wear a seatbelt. Seatbelts shouldn't be twisted, ever. So, make sure whenever you buckle up, your seatbelt is sitting properly along your hips and across your body.
Pay attention
This tip applies not only to the road you're driving on. We're also talking about paying attention to everything that can impact your ability to drive your vehicle:
Rain can make roads slicker and more slippery, even causing hydroplaning (which can be scary if you're not familiar with it!). Avoid puddles as well to prevent damage to your wheels and its alignment (potholes are a big no-no).
Keeping basic driving knowledge about pedestrians and cyclists in the forefront of your mind can keep yourself and others safe.
Don't ever drive under the influence! This will completely wreck your ability to see and hear your surroundings while behind the wheel. It's also the law to drive sober.
Another action that's against the law is using your cell phone while behind the wheel. Even conversation between people in the vehicle can distract enough to cause an accident, so that's also worth keeping in mind.
Get assessed right away
As soon as an accident happens, it's important that you get assessed for any injuries you may have received right away. Being assessed by a primary care practitioner should be done to thoroughly document your injuries and reduce your recovery timeline.
If injuries get missed or go undiagnosed, you can end up with chronic pain and dysfunction in your life and make work and daily actions as simple as sitting and standing extra difficult. Other injuries take their time to reveal themselves, such as whiplash, while head injuries are far more dangerous to leave unattended to and require urgent care. Being assessed for all these types of injuries will not only help your claim with ICBC become more prioritized, but it’ll also help to keep the aftereffects from worsening over time.
Manage all acute inflammatory processes
The crucial stage in determining long-term pain and effects of car accident injuries is in the 72 hours after the injury. Taking steps to manage and identifying the signs of any inflammation and reducing swelling is essential. By using ice and over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication during these 72 hours can considerably reduce the formation of scar tissue.
One of the biggest problems reported with car accidents are headaches and can develop over several months to over a year after your accident, resulting from improper care with the healing process.
During the initial 72 hours after your injury, it is important to help assist the scar tissue process and ensure to promote a strong, flexible scar in the soft tissue not to restrict range of motion. The formation of scar tissue is greatest in the first 30 days following a car accident. You can keep the scar tissue flexible and reduce potential long-term pain with manual therapy, stretching and movement.
The thing to keep in mind is that whiplash does not reveal its effects on the body until at least 1 week after the accident has happened. Whiplash injuries result in inflammation, affecting the facet joints on the back of the spine. During whiplash, these facet joints, particularly in the neck, can be forced closed which injures the joint causing chronic pain issues. Symptoms of whiplash can naturally be corrected, but there can also be ongoing symptoms from neck pain and stiffness, headaches, dizziness, blurred vision, and fatigue.
Use all the tools at your disposal
Doing this will speed up your recovery time in the early phases of an injury. Your toolbox starts with that first call to ICBC to activate your Enhanced Accident Benefits, in order to help with medical costs, wage loss, and more, even if you’re at fault for the accident. Whether you’re a driver, passenger, pedestrian, or cyclist, these benefits are accessible to all BC residents.
Your Enhanced Accident Benefits could include:
Physiotherapy, chiropractic, and massage therapy
Support and services like occupational therapy, counselling, and dental care
Medication and medical devices or equipment
Travel and accommodation expenses when travel is needed for medical or rehabilitation appointments
Your ICBC support and recovery specialist works with you and your primary health care practitioner(s) to assess your injuries and develop a treatment plan. The first 12 weeks after your accident, you can access treatment with the following:
Physiotherapist - 25 treatments
Chiropractor - 25 treatments
Registered massage therapist - 12 treatments
Acupuncturist-12 treatments
Psychologist - 12 treatments
Clinical counsellor - 12 treatments
If you are confused, or need further treatment beyond 12 weeks, always ask your health care provider for further care, and see what your ICBC specialist can do for you during your road to recovery.
Prevent long-term effects
Physical therapy can help in preventing long-term damage like chronic pain and migraines. Car accidents can cause lasting damage if your injuries are not attended to right away. You are more likely to live a pain-free life if you begin physical therapy immediately after your accident.
We can help you heal properly from whiplash-related problems like spinal misalignment, life-long physical conditions, and more.
Physical therapy may help avoid surgery
Serious car accident injuries likely need surgery immediately, non-life-threatening injuries are not exactly spared from surgery altogether. You may need surgery later in life due to the combination of the car accident injury with natural wear and tear of the everyday. Physical therapy will help to strengthen vulnerable muscles, tendons, and ligaments, which helps to protect various structures throughout your body.
Stay active during your recovery
Evidence shows if you can stay in connection with your job/recreational activities even from a modified participation perspective your return to work/play timeframes will be significantly shorter.
Even though you may think that moving around is the last thing you need after an accident, being physically active helps reduce pain and helps in recovery from your injuries a lot quicker than staying in bed. Being active helps your body heal itself with movement pumping oxygenated blood and other nutrients to the site of your injury.
If you need help, we can create individualized programs to help address pain points and poor body mechanics, with each exercise or stretch having a specific purpose and goal toward improving mobility and function. By regaining more function in your body, you are closer to a balanced and full recovery.
Recover fast with some help from us
As much as we'd love to avoid things like car collisions from happening in the first place, accidents happen even to the best of us. If you require any assistance in the physiotherapy area, Triumph Physio can help. Not only do we specialize in physiotherapy, but we also offer acupuncture and registered massage therapy. In the event your injury keeps you from attending an appointment at our clinic, we offer virtual sessions as well.
Contact us today to start recovering from your car accident injury fast!
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