Massage therapy for car accident injury
At Bothell Integrated Health, we specialize in treating car accident injuries. Patients come to us for medical massage after being involved in auto accidents. During winter, many car accidents happen, and in this article we will go over a variety of factors that can cause car accidents in the winter. Winter can be a dangerous time to be on the roads because of weather conditions, traffic, and more.
Every year in America, around 2000 people perish in winter car accidents, and over 135,000 people are injured. You should not trust other people to drive safely in the winter, and should always drive defensively. Some of the reasons why driving in winter can be more dangerous include heavy snow or rain, icy or wet roads, fog affecting visibility, unsafe and reckless driving, and not being educated about winter driving safety.
When the weather is raining, snowing, or sleeting, people driving can have their vision obscured. When precipitation is falling heavily, it can make it even more difficult to see. It’s colder during the winter, which means it’s more likely to rain or snow. Falling snowflakes and raindrops in front of a vehicle can make it hard to see the road up ahead, but they can also stick to your windshield. When rain and snow lands on the road, it can make it dangerously slippery. When the road is wet or snowy, it can take more time and further distance for vehicles to stop. It can also reduce traction, causing your tires to skid. Drivers must remember to slow down when there is rain or snow so that they don’t lose control of their vehicles and crash.
Ice can also form on roads during the winter, which can make them slippery. It gets colder once the sun goes down, so when drivers are traveling in the morning and evening they should be extra careful. In the Pacific Northwest, black ice can form under the right conditions. Black ice is a clear coating of ice on that road that’s nearly impossible to see. Many winter car accidents happen because of black ice. When drivers don’t know that there is ice on the road, they can’t adjust to the road conditions to be safe, and their vehicle could slide.
Another weather condition that can cause auto accidents is fog. Fog is more likely to form when it’s cold, so foggy weather happens more often in the winter. Fog can make it difficult to see far away, and thick fog can even make it hard to see what’s right in front of you. Vehicles could crash at intersections or could rear-end each other. When drivers use headlights in the fog, the light can refract off the water droplets in the air and have the opposite effect than intended. If the fog is too thick, it’s best not to drive unless absolutely necessary.
Many people do their best to avoid driving in bad winter weather, but others travel to visit friends and family, or to go shopping. Just because the weather is bad doesn’t mean that people can put their lives on pause until it clears up. With all the travel that happens during the winter, there can be heavy traffic, especially around shopping districts. When traffic is denser, it’s more likely for a car accident to happen. There is more potential for a crash to happen when there are more vehicles interacting with each other, because the more traffic there is, the closer vehicles are together. Sudden stops could easily cause an accident.
Whiplash treatment in Bothell
For many reasons, winter can be a stressful time. This stress can lead to people engaging in distracted, negligent, and reckless driving. Maybe a person is in a rush to get to the store before it closes, or they want to get home as soon as they can. Stress can cause people to make poor decisions, leading to accidents. Speeding can cause accidents, especially when there are hazardous conditions. If a person already has winter stress, they may also make dangerous, aggressive choices. They could engage in aggressive behaviors such as following cars too closely, cutting in front of other vehicles, or speeding up to prevent other drivers from merging
Another reason why accidents happen in the winter is that drivers may not have experience driving in icy or snowy weather. They might not have the correct brakes or tires to navigate winter roads. It’s important that the public is educated about safe driving during the winter. If people don’t know how to drive safely in winter, they put both themselves and other people on the road in danger. Young drivers and people that used to live in warmer climates are especially at risk of not knowing how to safely drive in winter.
If you were in a car accident, it’s important that you visit a medical professional. Bothell Integrated Health’s medical massage clinic can diagnose and treat any injuries you may have suffered from a car accident. Our experts create custom treatment plans for our patients that address their issues. A person might not realize right away that they were injured after a car accident, because shock and adrenaline can mask symptoms.
Many of the car accident injuries we treat are whiplash injuries. Whiplash is a type of soft tissue injury that many people suffer in car accidents. Whiplash injuries can range from being minor, healing within a few days, to serious injuries that cause long-lasting symptoms. Symptoms that whiplash can cause include: headaches, pain, tenderness, tingling, numbness, dizziness, and stiffness. Massage therapy is an effective treatment for whiplash injuries. Massage can help blood flow to the area to promote healing, as well as break up scar tissue so that your neck does not become stiff.
Car accidents can also cause neck and back pain. The neck and back area have a variety of soft tissues such as muscles and tendons. When these soft tissues are injured, it can cause significant pain. Soft tissue injuries in the neck and back may also cause chronic migraines. Neck and back injuries can pinch nerves and cause tensed-up muscles, as well as affect blood flow to the brain. This can lead to a person suffering from migraines. Massage can help improve blood flow and take pressure off of nerves, alleviating headache symptoms.
If you were involved in a car accident this winter and are experiencing symptoms of injury, reach out to Bothell Integrated Health as soon as possible. Many of the patients that see us for medical massage were injured in car accidents. Our expert massage therapists will work to help you feel better. We want our patients to live their best lives possible after being in an accident.
