Treating an Injury After an Accident

Answer:

“I just got hurt. What should I do now? How do I treat my injury?”

Probably the most important thing to know is that if you have any questions about the severity of an injury, you should talk to a doctor as quickly as you can. This might mean talking to your family doctor, calling an urgent care, or calling the emergency room. They can give you good counsel about whether you need to come in and see them right away, or if there are other less expensive options.

For many types of sprains, strains, bruises, and abrasions, doctors will prescribe RICE, rest, ice, compression, and elevation. These four things help keep swelling and pain under control and give your body time to heal.

Pain control is a critical component of healing. To help keep pain under control, doctors may prescribe a variety of medications. Which medication you are prescribed will depend on the severity of your pain, any other health conditions you have, and existing medications you are taking.

If your pain continues for months and becomes chronic, your doctor may consider other options to help manage your pain to keep the amount of medication you’re taking under control.

One alternative long-term pain management strategy is heat, such as using hot packs, hot whirlpools, and steam rooms to help with the perception of pain and to keep your muscles loose and painful joints moving.

Another alternative pain management strategy is physical movement and therapy. The latest science on pain is that movement helps. Under the direction of your doctor or a confident physical therapist or chiropractor, there are a variety of movement exercises you can do to keep painful areas moving, to strengthen and support the muscles and the joints around the area, and to strengthen and support the peripheral structures to help keep your pain down.

Along with these, there are complementary pain treatments like acupuncture, acupressure, massage therapy, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) units, spinal cord stimulators, and many, many others.

Over the years, I’ve seen these and many more used to help my clients through struggling with pain from their injuries. If you’re having problems with pain because of an injury, a crash, an accident, or anything else, give me a call. I’d love to talk with you about it and answer your questions.