September 16, 2011
I thought I had made it through. I was sure I was going to be okay. When the accident happened, my neck and back were a bit sore. Nothing worse than I would expect after being rear-ended. The next day, I was fine. When I went to the chiropractor three days after the accident, he could tell there was some soft tissue damage. But he didn’t think that any permanent damage was done.
I was more worried about my daughter than anybody else. She had been in the back seat. And she was hurting quite badly right after the accident. The ambulance attendants spent quite a bit of time with her, checking her over. Two days after the accident, she had a terrific headache and sore neck. She had to take Advil every four hours to dull the pain. When the chiropractor examined her shortly after the accident, he acknowledged that her damage was the greatest of the three of us.
Because of the pain she had experienced shortly after the accident, I had her visit our regular chiropractor once we got back home. She definitely needed an adjustment. This second chiropractor warned my daughter to watch carefully as typically, injuries from this type of an accident could crop up four to six weeks after the accident.
Almost exactly to the four-week mark, my neck started to hurt. And it felt quite stiff. It felt like there was a rod that went straight down my neck, slightly to the right side. I could still move my neck, but I had to move it carefully and gingerly. No sudden movements were allowed. This was a different type of pain from what I had ever experienced. Not a severe pain. Just a pain that made itself known. A warning.
I went to my regular chiropractor and he gave me the disappointing diagnosis. I definitely had grade two whip-lash. Apparently, whip-lash is graded out of four. Grade two means that there is some mobility issues and soft tissue damage. Grade three means that there is severe damage, along with other symptoms such as tingling or loss of feeling in the arms and/or hands.
Now I have to ensure that I schedule regular weekly chiropractor appointments. My chiropractor also doesn’t think that there will be any permanent damage. Although he did caution that there was no guarantee at this time. He believes that, providing I undergo regular weekly adjustments, I should be okay after a few months.
Now I have extensive paperwork to fill out for the insurance claim. And I have to get a medical doctor to complete a set of paperwork. I asked my chiropractor to complete the same form. I haven’t been to a medical doctor yet. When I have a spinal issue, I go to the chiropractor. He is the specialist. But because of insurance purposes, I have to use up a medical doctor’s precious time to fill out a form that is more applicable to a chiropractor’s practice than a medical clinic’s. I’m sure the medical doctor will simply state on the form that he recommends I get assessed by a chiropractor and continue treatments as prescribed, by a chiropractor.
A visit that doesn’t do any good to anybody. All because the insurance company does not recognize the professionalism and expertise of the chiropractor field. For the sake of my back and neck, I’m glad that I do recognize the benefits of the chiropractor’s skill. Going for a regular spinal adjustment will be the best treatment for my injury. If I wasn’t such a believer in the expertise of my chiropractor, I could very well run the risk of having long-term, and possibly, permanent damage.
Ms. Martha Urquhart 