Auto Injury Care 101: What to Do After a Car Accident

Even a seemingly minor auto accident can place significant forces on your neck, back, muscles, joints, and connective tissues. Some symptoms appear immediately, while others—such as stiffness, headaches, muscle soreness, or difficulty moving—may become more noticeable hours or days later.
What Should You Do After an Accident?
First, address any urgent medical concerns. Seek emergency care for serious symptoms such as loss of consciousness, severe or worsening pain, significant weakness or numbness, difficulty breathing, confusion, or other concerning neurological symptoms.
Once serious injuries have been ruled out, a thorough musculoskeletal evaluation can help identify injuries and functional problems that may otherwise be overlooked.
Common Auto Accident Injuries
Patients may experience:

• Whiplash-associated neck pain and stiffness
• Back and shoulder pain
• Headaches associated with neck injury
• Muscle strains and ligament sprains
• Joint stiffness and reduced mobility
• Muscle spasm or guarding
• Difficulty sitting, driving, sleeping, working, or exercising

Recovery Is More Than Pain Relief
​At HealthRock Chiropractic & Sports Medicine, we approach auto injury recovery much like sports injury rehabilitation: Relieve → Restore → Return.
The first goal is to reduce symptoms and restore comfortable movement. Care then progresses toward improving mobility, strength, stability, and functional capacity so you can safely return to work, exercise, sports, and everyday activities.
Treatment may include chiropractic care, soft-tissue therapy, physiotherapy, therapeutic exercise, and functional rehabilitation based on your individual findings.
When additional evaluation is needed, coordinated care with physicians, specialists, physical therapists, and diagnostic imaging providers can also be an important part of recovery.
The key takeaway: Don't evaluate your recovery only by how much you hurt. Pay attention to how well you move, function, work, sleep, exercise, and return to the activities you enjoy.
This article is for general educational purposes and is not a substitute for an individual medical evaluation.