Chiropractic Adjustments After a Car Accident: Treatment Starts on Visit 1

When a collision forces a spinal joint past its range or jams it, the joint capsule swells, the small muscles around it tighten, and motion drops. That loss of motion is what an adjustment corrects. Dr. McNamara-Krauss places the joint at the end of its available range and applies a quick, shallow thrust. The joint moves, the muscles relax, and the pain signals settle.

The adjustment is specific. It targets one segment, in one direction, based on what the orthopedic and neurological testing found on your first visit. In the first days after a crash, when tissue is swollen, she uses a lighter, low-force technique instead of a full thrust.

A rear-end impact on Federal Highway or Sample Road throws the head back and forward and strains the neck. A side impact twists the low back and pelvis. The seat belt loads the ribs and mid-back. Adjustments treat the joint side of each: the cervical facet joints for whiplash, the lumbar and sacroiliac joints for back injuries, and the rib and thoracic joints for seat belt injuries.

In the same visit, Dr. McNamara-Krauss pairs adjustments with electrical stimulation to calm spasm, Class IV laser therapy on the LightForce to reduce inflammation, and, for disc injuries, spinal decompression on the Antalgic-Trac. Under Florida PIP, treatment within 14 days keeps the full $10,000 benefit available, so the first adjustment is usually the same day you are examined. This is general information, not legal advice.

Your first visit starts with the examination. Dr. McNamara-Krauss takes the history of the crash, tests orthopedic and neurological function, and measures range of motion. If the findings point to a fracture, an unstable segment, or nerve compression, she refers you for imaging first. Otherwise the first adjustment happens that visit. It takes a few minutes per area.

There is no fixed number of visits. A typical course starts with more frequent visits in the first weeks, when the restriction returns quickly, then spaces out as motion holds between visits. Dr. McNamara-Krauss re-measures range of motion on a schedule, and the plan follows those measurements. Mild soreness for a day after a visit is common.

Adjustments are safe for most accident patients when the examination comes first. Dr. Carol McNamara-Krauss is a Florida-licensed chiropractic physician (DC), license CH5281. She does not adjust over a suspected fracture, a segment that tests unstable, an area with a progressive neurological deficit, or a fresh disc injury with signs of nerve compression until imaging has cleared it. Those patients go through our imaging and specialist referral process first.

Head injuries and concussion are screened here and referred, not treated. If you hit your head, lost consciousness, or have confusion, vomiting, or a worsening headache, go to an emergency department first. Broward Health North on Sample Road in Deerfield Beach is the closest to this office. Patients on blood thinners or with osteoporosis are treated with low-force techniques or referred.