Motor Vehicle Accidents
A motor vehicle accident can happen in an instant, yet have long-lasting effects that can negatively impact both your physical and mental health. If you have been in a car accident it is imperative to be assessed as soon as possible by either your family doctor, chiropractor or physical therapist, as not all injuries are visible and can cause significant decline to your health or further lead to more significant consequences if not treated.
How can a Motor Vehicle Accident affect you?
- Difficulty regulating your thoughts, feelings, moods and behaviors after the accident.
- Feelings of hypervigilance, agitation, anxiety or depression, which can appear long after the car accident.
- Difficulty concentrating or remembering events of the accident or events after.
- Re-traumatization through memories, flashbacks or nightmares.
- Hesitancy to engage with motor vehicles, limiting your ability to travel.
- Muscle tightness, especially around your back, neck and shoulders, which could be due to a whiplash injury.
- Inflammation around the neck, lower back and hips, which can vary depending on the severity of the car accident.
- Limitation to your range of motion, due to the body guarding or development of scar tissue as a result of endured or perceived harm.
- Indigestion and other digestive disturbances due to the stress of being in a car accident.
- Chronic pain as a result of unhealed injuries or storage of stress as a result of not undiagnosed injuries or improper treatment plans.
Accident Benefit Coverage
In Alberta, if you have been in an automobile accident, you are entitled to accident benefits coverage regardless of who was at fault.
This means that you will be able to access 10/21 treatments based on severity of your injury. Your primary health care provider, either your family doctor, chiropractor or physiotherapist, will conduct an assessment and fill out an AB form.
Once a formal assessment and diagnosis has been established, therapists will not need to be approved by the insurer for payment if you provide notice of your claim and choose to follow the 10/21 treatment protocol. This means that therapists are able to directly bill on your behalf, preventing you from having to pay out of pocket as long as you are able to provide your claim number and adjudicators contact information.
Typically, your health provider will suggest physiotherapy or chiropractic however, you are able to advocate for additional services such as acupuncture or counseling.
How do we help?
- Regulating the autonomic nervous system to reduce muscle tension, digestive disturbances and overall activation.
- Optimize the parasympathetic nervous system to help calm the mind and allow the body to rest and revitalize.
- Harmonizing the mind-body connection, allowing you to become more present and attuned to your body.
- Address muscle imbalances that were created as a result of traumatic injury or storage of emotions.
- Become more aware of how trauma impacts you and develop an understanding of how you can recover.
- Process past traumas in a safe space where you won’t get stuck.
- Be more present, as the pulls from past trauma will begin to fade away.
- Live more optimally, as your nervous system begins to heal, thus reducing physical symptoms such as muscle tension or digestive issues.
- Develop effective coping mechanisms to limit the negative impact of future adversities, thus protecting you from becoming traumatized.
