Shoulder pain can occur immediately following a car accident, but this is also pain that may present itself a number of days after the accident has occurred. The shoulder ties into the neck and back, and the ball / joint of the shoulder is very susceptible to injury. This area of the body contains a lot of different muscles, ligaments, tendons and bones. Because of this, it can be difficult to diagnose a problem with your shoulder. As long as nothing seems in need of immediate surgery, care from a chiropractor may suffice. If you’re in a lot of pain after a motor vehicle accident, you should seek medical care to figure out what’s going on. Once it’s determined where the pain is coming from, you can work closely with a chiropractor to treat the shoulder pain.

How Does a Car Accident Cause a Shoulder Injury?

When you’re driving along and you experience a sudden jolt during an impact, your body can twist, snap and turn in very unnatural positions. You can also experience a shoulder injury if there’s an impact that occurs to the door where you’re strapped in. Just because you feel fine at the moment, doesn’t mean that you haven’t experienced any kind of injury. You may need to wait a few days for the inflammation in your shoulder to develop and make you uncomfortable.

What Does a Chiropractor Look For?

When you seek chiropractic care, you will be asked about the pain that you’re feeling. Your chiropractor will also look for a discolored area on the shoulder. Bruising in certain locations of the shoulder will help your doctor pinpoint where you’re having issues. You should also report back on any intense pain or tenderness that you’re experiencing. Stiffness, swelling, tingling and numbness are all common symptoms that you should keep an eye out for. Some of the more common shoulder injuries that you will be screened for after your accident includes:

  • Broken or fractured collar bone
  • Injured rotator cuff
  • Sprains to your ligaments
  • Overstretched muscles

What Does Treatment Include?

It’s important that you have an accurate diagnosis of your shoulder injury. Your plan of care may include attention from a chiropractor, a traditional medical doctor or both. They may even want to work closely together to make sure that you’re healing while having your pain managed in a more safe and natural form. Your chiropractor will work with you to stretch your shoulder, promote blood flow to the injured area and potential align your spine in a way that will help your body heal and relieve pain.

If you would like to discuss a recent motor vehicle accident that resulted in a shoulder injury, you can contact Denver Chiropractic, LLC. We can schedule for an upcoming appointment so you can have your issues addressed as soon as possible. We want to make sure that we help you get back on your feet in a short amount of time with minimal pain.