What is the Number one Treatment Error that Car Accident Patients Make?

The biggest error is the frequency of treatment. Most car accident patients have too little treatment in the first six months after the accident and too much treatment in the period of time after the six month mark. The leading clinical research emphasizes the need for very frequent treatment in the first six months following an accident tapering off to an “as needed” basis after six to eight months.

The following protocol followed by a leading Surrey multidisciplinary clinic has proven very effective:

( a ) a passive programme of chiropractic and massage care of two to three times a week for the first three months, followed by

( b ) a progressively more active integrated physiotherapy and kinesiology programme of two to three times a week for the next three months followed by

( c ) a self directed gym or home based programme of stretching and strengthening exercises with the patient’s choice of passive care for management of pain flare ups

I am a big believer in regular monthly chiropractic maintenance care and note that this practice has been endorsed by a group of medical doctors in a recent study in Spine, the leading muscluloskeletal journal in the world. This is true not just of car accident patients but for everybody with a spine.

So, if you want to get better faster and give yourself the best chance to avoid chronic pain:

( a ) be prepared to have very frequent treatment over the first six months, in the order of two to three times weekly

( b ) taper off your treatments so that, at the six to eight month post-accident mark, you are managing your symptoms with your own self administered exercise programme