Did you know that in 2019 alone, there were over 100 thousand car crashes leading to serious injury in Canada? From serious accidents to minor fender benders, collisions happen every day. One thing that all car accidents have in common, however, is a very serious risk of injury for anyone involved.
If you’ve suffered an injury, particularly one affecting your neck or spine, you’re probably wondering how to best get the help you need and recover fast. One of the best ways to do this is with the help of a kinesiologist.
Why kinesiology?
The end goal of kinesiology is to help you overcome injuries without the need for painkillers or other medication, through exercise therapy. In essence, it’s focused on repairing the injured soft tissue.
Did you also know that kinesiology is covered by ICBC? In the first 3 month following your accident, 12 sessions are pre-approved in the event you’ve become injured and have an active claim, at no extra cost to you. The sessions can also take place online.
If more than 3 months has gone by since your accident, service providers such as Nova Active Rehab can contact ICBC on your behalf to secure funding for treatment. If you require more than 12 sessions, service providers can secure funding for additional treatment.
So, if you’ve suffered injuries from a car crash, a kinesiologist can help you fully recover. You can learn more about coverage from our ICBC section.
How can a kinesiologist help me?
Once you sit down with a kinesiologist, they’ll get started by getting a sense of your health and your injury. This consultation usually starts with a conversation and may move on to a light physical assessment to determine the severity of your injury.
From there, your kinesiologist will start on creating a customized exercise and treatment plan that takes into account your health, the status of your injury, your goals, and any other unique needs you may have.
The exact process of kinesiology differs from case to case, but in general, there are a few things to expect from working with a kinesiologist after a car accident:
1. Gentle exercise to increase strength & reduce pain
Possibly the largest benefit of kinesiology is its amazing ability to reduce pain without prescription drugs. With the right exercises, your injured areas will heal and become stronger. As you progress through your recovery, your pain will be less intense and occur less frequently.
You’ll recover much faster with kinesiology’s help than on your own. A kinesiologist is highly trained in human anatomy, and each exercise has a very specific purpose in helping you through the process of recovery.
2. Restoring your range of motion
Commonly, people who have been injured in a car crash suffer a loss of function and mobility. This could be your neck, where you’re unable to turn your head a certain way. It could also be in your shoulders, preventing you from raising one or both arms to your usual ability, or it could be in your spine, preventing you from bending over.
Limited mobility is a major annoyance. Longer periods of time with poor mobility can make rehabilitation more complicated.
Your kinesiologist will take your range of motion into account when developing your treatment plan, and focus many of the exercises on restoring your mobility.
It can even help people with old injuries from a car accident months or years prior.
3. Return to work and leisure activities
Your kinesiologist will design a custom program aimed at helping you to successfully return to work and leisure activities. They will let you know when it’s safe for you to return to your job based on your abilities and your job duties. They will coach you on how to return to leisure activities so you don’t suffer any setbacks. If you for example are a runner, your kinesiologist may suggest that you start back running short intervals and then slowly work up to running your regular duration.
4. Reducing the need for surgeries and other medical procedures
After a serious car accident, many people despair at the thought of having to undergo surgeries and other invasive medical procedures simply to feel better. While sometimes surgery is unavoidable, kinesiology can often help to reduce the odds of an operation being required.
Because this therapy is focused on exercise rehabilitation, your muscles, ligaments, and tendons will strengthen as you progress through treatment, reducing the risk of medical procedures later on down the line.
Get started
As you can see, there are many benefits to working with a kinesiologist after a car accident, major or minor. Not only can a qualified therapist help you recover from your injury and reduce the pain, discomfort, and limited mobility, they’ll also help you to strengthen your body and make you stronger than you were before.
If you’re looking to work with a kinesiologist to recover from injuries related to a car crash, we can help. Our team is highly experienced in working with patients with all kinds of specific needs, and rehabilitation after a car accident happens to be one of our specialties!
If you’re in need of some help from the professionals, don’t hesitate to contact us today.
