If you’ve been injured in an auto accident (or any other type of accident for that matter), it’s likely that you are seeing a chiropractor (or perhaps another type of physician) to help you on your road to recovery. We were reminded of a very important tip about the recovery process when speaking with Dr. Kent Salholm of TLC Chiropractic in Garden Grove and Tustin. Dr. Salholm reminded us of the importance of keeping your chiropractor in the loop during your recovery.
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When most people are recovering from a severe injury, they wind up seeing a chiropractor around 20-25 times throughout the course of their health journey. During each appointment, the chiropractor (or physician) will ask the patient how they are doing. Most people respond easily with, “the same as last time” or “a little better”. This is really not the way you want to respond to your chiropractor. You want your doctor to be able to help you out as much as possible, and you can’t do that without providing them with as much detail as possible.
For instance, instead of saying one of those answers above or by just stating how you are doing on that specific date, try and remember to tell your doctor how you have been doing from the last visit to the current visit. Dr. Salholm states this is the difference between showing your doctor a photograph versus a video. By providing just how you are doing on a day, they may not get enough information to properly treat you. If you explain how your journey has been since you last saw them in great detail, they are much more likely to help you improve quicker and easier. Think about the following and report it to your chiropractor throughout each visit:
- How is your injury affecting your daily life?
- Are you impacted every day by pain or just sometimes? When do you feel the most pain? Where are you feeling the pain? Are you doing anything in particular when you do feel the pain?
- Remember that pain isn’t all your chiropractor wants to hear about. Are you feeling any stiffness or tightness?
Thinking about the above questions and, perhaps, writing out any discomfort that you feel throughout the week and including when you feel it and what you were doing when you feel it is crucial. This can help you recover much quicker and easier. Communication with your physician is key, as is with any aspect in life, so be sure to communicate. And if you’ve been injured in an auto accident, remember to find a qualified medical professional who works on a lien basis via our list of doctors who work on a lien basis here.
