Learn more about why a lack of movement after a car crash could negatively effect your overall recovery time and your body’s range of motion

Following an auto accident, a patients’ worst fear usually involves hindering their recovery time through movement. As a patient moves, they feel their muscles contract, followed by a wave of pain and a soreness that ultimately discourages them from pushing the limits of their range of motion. One concern that rushes through your mind may be, “I am doing more harm than good by pushing my range of motion to its limits.” On the contrary, failure to consistently push your body’s range of motion to it’s limits following an auto accident may hinder your recovery even further.

In a study published in the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, researchers measured 42 patients’ level of fear by utilizing two different scales. Each patients’ injuries differ in severity, but they have all suffered from pain for under a month, and all were harmed in a car crash. Researchers analyzed the patients’ range of motion in their necks. Additionally, they noted the severity of each individual’s neck injury. Each patient was evaluated after one, three, and six months after their auto accident.

Effects Immobility has on the Body

A driver is seen braving rainy conditions on the road in his vehicle.

“…movement after an auto accident does more than just reduce anxiety…”

The study concludes that patients who were more reluctant to move their neck had decreased neck immobility. This was in addition to a reduced range of motion. In addition, fear only served as to prolong these patients’ symptoms. Conversely, patients with less fear of movement recovered before their 6 month follow up.

This study concludes that movement after an auto accident does more than just reduce anxiety. It ensures that muscle tissue does not recover to be more damaged, tense, or restricted. Chiropractic can play an essential role in recovery, because chiropractic works to reestablish everyday movement and function in your neck and back. In the event that you’ve been in an auto accident, do not hesitate to seek treatment. It is imperative to get your neck and spine moving again as soon as possible. Chiropractic can accelerate your recovery.