The Benefits of Physical Therapy for Car Accident Victims

Each week, Boulton Law Group consults with injured people and families who have been affected by a car accident or similar incident. No matter the cause of the accident or nature of their injuries, we advise everyone to do the following: “Seek medical treatment.”

Most importantly, we give this advice to help ensure victims do not overlook potential health complications. Large and small accidents alike result in a wide range of injury types. Some are traumatic, requiring immediate care, while others are subtle and do not present until a number of days following the accident.

No matter your injury type, proper medical care and follow-up will be key to ensuring you return to maximum health. One of the most common and effective forms of care for accident victims is physical therapy.

Some victims will falsely assume that they can forgo physical therapy and do self-prescribed exercises at home to achieve the same results. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

Top 5 advantages of physical therapy for car accident victims

Physical therapy offers the following advantages:

1. Don’t enjoy being in pain? Physical therapy can get you back to health sooner!

In most cases, accident victims (especially those who have suffered soft-tissue damage) do not understand the full extent of their injuries. Because of this, we talk to many people who thought they were fine, or that they simply needed to wait out minor aches and bruising.

However, once the adrenaline wears off and victims attempt to return to a normal routine, new symptoms and pains can begin to present themselves. Often it is in the form of muscle soreness, stiff joints, headaches, and/or a negative affect on your range of motion.

Without the guidance of a trained physical therapist, victims are simply shooting in the dark as to how to best treat their injuries. In some cases, they do more damage and increase the amount of time it takes to recover and heal.

Physical therapists regularly work with accident victims and are best qualified to identify your problem areas and put a plan of action in place that will rehab, re-condition, and strengthen damaged muscles and tendons.

Ultimately, a prescribed physical therapy plan can greatly reduce the amount of time it takes a victim to recover from their injuries.

2. Physical therapy can help ward off other medical conditions.

Following a car accident, everyone’s injuries present unique challenges that require personalized care. Some victims, due to their age or previous medical history, may require more extensive care than others.

A physical therapist is able to take into account your present condition, as well as past medical history, and prescribe a plan that will help to ensure the injuries caused by the accident do not evolve or lead to a chronic condition.

For example, without physical therapy, an accident victim may over-compensate to relieve pressure on an affected area, resulting in added stress to other muscles and ligaments, ultimately leading to new damage.

The goal of physical therapy is to help victims to return to a state of health that they experienced pre-accident. The way to achieve this is by performing exercises and workout routines that improve strength and flexibility, while also increasing range of motion.

Accident victims that do not seek physical therapy, or fail to complete the prescribed program, may increase their risks of developing arthritis, long-term pain, and/or degenerative disc disease.

3. Physical therapy keeps your body in motion.

It has been proven that a sedentary lifestyle can have a number of negative benefits on a person’s health, and the same holds true with accident victims who do not properly exercise damaged muscles and other affected body parts.

One of the many benefits of physical therapy is that it supplies much needed blood flow and oxygen to damaged tissues and ligaments. The various exercises helps the blood to deliver rich nutrients to the afflicted areas, promoting the healing process.

Physical therapy ensures the muscles and ligaments are not neglected or experience any long-term atrophy.

4. Physical therapy may help you to avoid more invasive procedures.

Effective physical therapy programs have been proven to help some accident victims avoid the need for more intensive treatment, such as surgery.

Victims that delay seeking treatment, or miss scheduled doctor’s appointments, increase the risk of exacerbating their existing injuries, leading to new or chronic symptoms. In these cases, the need for surgery may become a requirement.

However, for victims that seek immediate treatment and diagnosis, a doctor may choose to first prescribe physical therapy to see what results can be achieved before electing to pursue more invasive treatment.

Many victims, if given the choice, would rather undergo physical therapy to prevent the need for surgery, saving them time, money, and missed time away from work.

5. Physical therapy treatment can strengthen your personal injury claim.

As we mentioned in the opening, seeking medical treatment is critical to an accident victim’s total recovery, and this includes any potential personal injury claim.

Committing to physical therapy treatment provides a number of advantages recognized by the insurance company and/or a potential jury:

• Physical therapy shows the insurance company that you are genuinely committed to improving your health.
• Physical therapy is recognized as a more legitimate form of treatment when compared to other treatments, such as massage therapy or self-prescribed, at-home exercises.
• Physical therapy records provide official treatment documentation. Without medical records and bills, the insurance company will reject or significantly reduce compensation.
• Physical therapy helps to communicate the severity of your injuries. For example, an ER visit and follow-up with your family physician will not have the same impact as multiple weeks of physical therapy.

Boulton Law Group closely monitors each client’s treatment to ensure that they are making physical therapy appointments and performing the prescribed treatments.

Top-rated Indianapolis personal injury lawyer. Free legal advice.

Attorney Matt Boulton has been helping injured Hoosiers for over 20 years. His experience and results have led to him being one of Indiana’s most highly sought after personal injury lawyers.

In addition to successfully settling and winning cases on behalf of clients and their families, attorney Boulton and his staff are known for treating clients like family. We understand that this may be one of the most upsetting experiences in a person’s life, and we spare no expense to make you feel at home during every interaction with our firm.

Additionally, no one should be forced to face an insurance company and their lawyers without having someone on their side, and that is why Boulton Law Group offers accident victims and their families a Zero Fee Guarantee.

That means that you can always request a free legal consultation regarding your situation, and if you decide to hire us, you owe the firm nothing until we win your case.

Our Zero Fee Guarantee helps to ensure accident victims have equal access to award-winning legal representation, no matter their financial situation.

If you were involved in an accident and you have questions about treatment, such as physical therapy, please contact us through our confidential contact form.

If you prefer to speak to attorney Boulton today, call us at 317-350-2680.

We look forward to hearing your story and going to work for you.