Auto Accident Care in Carrollton, TX

What Auto Accident Care is at Dallas Spine Center?

Auto accident care includes two processes. The first part is to document that your injuries are real and caused by the accident. Then, we treat those injuries with the right tools at the right time. After a crash, you might experience nerve symptoms and feel pain and stiffness in your muscles. We need objective testing to establish the connection between your injuries and the accident. This is where X-rays and specialized ligament analysis come in.

After we have established what part of your body is injured, we’ll design your treatment based on your stage of recovery. At the early stage, you might be dealing with soft tissue inflammation and pain. Then, during imaging, if it reveals disc damage, your care will change to include decompression and active rehabilitation. The main goal is to ensure you’ll be fully functioning after the treatment ends. We document your progress at every step.

How Auto Accident Care is Performed by Dr. Hoa Nguyen at Dallas Spine Center

Auto accident care starts with a thorough examination and in-house X-rays. The X-rays can rule out fractures or other conditions that would make manual treatment unsafe. They also provide the basis for Computer Radiography Mensuration Analysis (CRMA). It measures your ligament alignment and spacing in your spine to prove ligament injuries are new and acute. This means that they happened because of the recent accident and not the past.

When ligaments stretch or tear in a crash, they leave measurable changes on X-ray. But CRMA captures the changes objectively. This documentation matters a lot for your treatment plan and for your insurance and legal proceedings. It’s proof and not guesswork.

The equipment and techniques depend on your stage of care and specific injuries. In the first conservative phase, we use a combination of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS), infrared heat pads, Hako-Med therapy, and shockwave therapy to calm the inflammation, reduce your pain, and support soft tissue healing. We use a ProjAdjuster SRT device for adjustments. This is an instrument that delivers precise mobilization without forceful manual thrusts. It’s vital, especially if the tissues are sensitive and they’re still inflamed.

We re-evaluate your condition after you move past the acute stage. When your MRI reveals bulging or protruding discs, we’ll provide you with active care where spinal decompression and Vibroplate therapy are now involved. Decompression stretches your spine to remove the pressure from the damaged discs. On the other hand, the Vibroplate can help in retraining your muscles and improve their stability. We choose the best equipment for your situation based on your exam results and imaging.

What Auto Accident Care Typical Session Feels Like?

Auto accident care’s first step is a consultation with Dr. Hoa. This involves discussing your pain history, when it started, how severe it is, and what you’ve tried so far. We may also need your prior imaging. If you don’t have any recent X-rays, we’ll take them right at our office using our digital system. Once we review those images and complete the CRMA analysis, we’ll explain what’s injured and outline your treatment path.

Your treatment sessions are gentle and methodical. During your treatment, you might lie on a table while we use a TENS unit to send mild electrical pulses for muscle spasm reduction. Or you might rest under an infrared heat pad to boost blood flow. We also use Hako-Med therapy to reach deeper tissues that manual therapy can’t. Shockwave is also used to deliver acoustic waves to stubborn areas of inflammation or scar tissue. We may use ProAdjuster to mobilize your joints using a tapping motion. It doesn’t involve any popping sound that many people worry about.

In the acute stage, the sessions can last between 20 minutes and 30 minutes. You may need to come in two to three times a week. The reason for this is that inflamed tissues heal better with consistent care. But as you improve, your visits are spread out. If you move into the active stage involving decompression, your sessions can take longer. Some sessions can last up to 40 minutes. The sessions may include setup and rest after the treatment.

Who Auto Accident Care is For and Who Must Avoid It?

Auto accident care is ideal if you have pain in your muscles, strains in your ligaments, and stiffness in your joints. It may also be ideal if you experience numbness, tingling, and other nerve symptoms after a car crash. Our chiropractic clinic also treats whiplash, soft tissue sprains, herniated discs, and pinched nerves. Some of your symptoms may not show up after the accident. Hence, you may feel fine, but symptoms can still arise days or weeks after the collision.

Although auto accident care is ideal for treating patients involved in a car crash, not all cases are ideal. We don’t recommend it for the following situations:

• Spinal fracture or suspected fracture
• Severe spinal instability or dislocations
• Injuries in the spinal cord
• Neurological defects, cauda equina syndrome, or uncontrollable worsening neurological symptoms
• Significant cord compression or acute cervical myelopathy
• Spinal tumors or destructive bone lesions
• Severe headaches, dizziness, or visual changes that can’t be explained
• Severe osteoporosis or significant bone fragility
• Spinal surgery done recently
• Medical instability that requires hospital care

If one or some of those conditions are present, X-rays and exams will identify them before you start your treatment. This is also the reason we take an image of your spine and test you first.

Which Conditions Does an Auto Accident Care Help?

We recommend auto accident care to our patients with the following injuries after a car crash:

• Whiplash and neck strain
• Back pain from soft tissue or disc injuries
• Herniated disc and protruding disc
• Sciatica and radiating leg pain
• Pinched nerve affecting the neck or low back
• Numbness and tingling in the arms or legs
• Shoulder pain from seatbelt strain or impact
• Ligament sprains and soft tissue inflammation

If your injury isn’t included in the list, we will examine you first. We’ll take imaging to tell us whether you need chiropractic care or if you need to be referred out.

What Happens After Treatment and How Often Will I Need to Come In?

The acute stage involves managing your pain and inflammation, so you need to come in frequently, usually two to three times a week. At this stage, you may need between 8 and 12 visits. Once the initial stage is completed, we may order an MRI to see if you sustain disc pathology that can’t be seen on X-ray. If it’s clear and you feel better, we’ll start spacing out your visits and transition to maintenance care. You may not even be required to come back.

However, if the MRI shows bulging or herniated discs, you will transition to the active stage. The focus here would be decompressing your spine and exercising your muscles. Active care can last for several more weeks. But this depends on how your body responds to the treatment. That’s why we reevaluate you regularly. If your condition is not improving, we won’t continue the plan and will refer you for a second opinion.

Our chiropractor will evaluate your progress to decide on the frequency of your visits. It’s not a preset schedule. If you sustain mild injuries, they might resolve in a few weeks. But it can take longer if you have severe disc injuries. At each stage, Dr. Hoa will explain everything, including your exam and imaging findings.

What Patients Tell Us About Their Auto Accident Experience

Our patients appreciate the fact that we don’t guess on whether or not their pain is real or related to the accident. This is why CRM analysis and imaging are vital to give us objective proof. It’s vital documentation that they can show to their insurance companies or lawyers. It also gives us confidence that the plan is grounded in something that can be measured.

They are also relieved that the approach is gentle. We understand that you don’t want aggressive manipulation. After all, you’re already in pain. The ProAdjuster and staged equipment plan will help us treat you where you are right now. It’s not a generic protocol. Many of our patients also reported feeling better within the first few visits, especially when their inflammation has diminished and their range of motion has improved.

Some of our patients, however, would come in and worry about their chronic pain or long-term disability. We don’t guarantee your outcomes. But many of our patients find that when they start their care early and they follow it through, it will give them the best outcomes and full recovery. But when they delay their treatment, or they’re inconsistent with their visits, it can lead to more pain and stubborn symptoms.

How Do I Pay for Auto Accident Care?

Most auto accident treatment at Dallas Spine Center is covered through a letter of protection, or LOP. That means you don’t pay out of pocket upfront. Instead, medical payments come from your settlement after your case resolves. The treatment cost is paid directly from the settlement funds. This arrangement lets you focus on healing without worrying about immediate bills.

That said, an LOP only works if there’s insurance coverage in place. We accept personal injury protection and all auto insurance policies. If you have questions about your specific coverage or how the LOP process works, we’ll walk you through it during your first visit.

Frequently Asked Questions