Car Accidents, MVA’s and dealing with them

I have seen many people with car accidents in their history come to my massage table.  A common issue is the pain and how it just seems to stay for so long.  I cannot tell you how many times I have heard a client say to me “When is this pain going to go away?  I have been waiting for it to dissipate since my accident but it only seems to be getting worse!”

I have had to break it to people so many times.  When you get into a car accident the soft tissue damage to your body is diffuse (in a spread out area of your body) it is also almost impossible to see on your skin - there’s often no bruising.  Because the pain caused by diffuse soft tissue injury seems to have no seeable cause, this situation can lead the person experiencing pain to feel somewhat out of their minds and a bit like a big fat baby.

One should just be able to bounce right back into life, right?  The body has healed itself in the past real quick -why not now?  Though it is hard to explain - the logic behind lots of soft tissue damage is easy to understand.  With the activities of life - the body moves alot.  When you have the diffuse soft tissue injuries caused by a car accident - those little breaks in the fibers of soft tissue continue to get pulled and broken again even after the initial insult to the fibers of the soft tissues.

The whole idea of this sort of injury is downright controversial.  It’s kind of a bitch considering the involvement of insurance companies and the “hard proof” needed to justify payment of claims.

Get a good lawyer to fight for your right to get your massage, chiropractic, physical therapy and acupuncture paid for by the insurance companies (regardless of fault).  Keep your claim open the full 3-year max and get the treatment you need to treat the injuries that you will live with for the rest of your life.

Getting in to an accident will leave a permanent mark.  The injuries will become chronic and you will have to maintain your soft tissue health for the rest of your life - if you want to keep those injuries from getting harder and harder scar tissue that will leave you “feeling old” and creaky later on.