Motor Vehicle Accident Massage

If you are in a motor vehicle accident (MVA), your doctor may prescribe massage as a part of your treatment plan. Massage can address the stress that goes with a traumatic event like a car accident. It can help address many of the sprains, strains, and other injuries common in a MVA.


Know Your Rights
If you’re injured in a MVA you should immediately visit your Family Physician. They will assess and document your condition. This serves as a baseline for your care and as evidence of your situation if you proceed to court. Based on your assessment, you’re given permission to access at most 21 treatments for your condition.

Often, a Doctor will recommend Physiotherapy treatments first, followed by Chiropractic treatments. If you request massage, they will request that you see a specialist first. That could be your Family Doctor can be an MD, Physiotherapist, or Chiropractor. Often they are not aware of the therapeutic treatments that massage therapists offer. They would refer you to treatments that they are familiar with. This is why, you the patient, must know your rights to be able to provide this information to your Family Doctor.

Insurance companies do not have the right to determine what treatments you access. Your primary health care practitioner does, based on your requests. The practitioners provide information to you about your condition. You then have the choice to decide which services to proceed with.

Treatment Protocol

The goals of massage therapy injury recovery are to:

  • Reduce stress
  • Reduce pain and swelling
  • Improve circulation
  • Improve range of motion (ROM)
  • Speed up the recovery process

Immediately after a car accident, massage therapy can help you recover. Massage helps to restore balance to your autonomic nervous system. The relaxation benefits of massage can help reverse the effects that the shock and trauma of a car wreck can have on your nervous system. Massage also promotes circulation of both blood and lymph. This can help manage the swelling that usually comes with motor vehicle accident injuries.

During the first few days or weeks after the accident, massage can help. It helps by preventing the formation of scar tissue and other Myofascial adhesions. Later in your recovery, we can address specific musculoskeletal injuries. This includes whiplash, neck pain, back pain, headaches, shoulder sprains/strains, etc.

No two car accidents are the same, and everyone responds different. We always adapt our treatments to your unique needs.

Many factors affect your recovery, and we account for these factors in your care.

Mental Health
Your safety is always our first priority in any massage treatment.  We are particularly careful to create a safe environment for motor vehicle accident victims. You are likely to be in distress. This is not only because of your injuries, but also because you may be unable to fulfill your normal work, family, and community obligations.

“Normal life” changes as you deal non-stop with health care providers, insurance companies, and auto repair shops.

The last thing you need is more stress. That is why we’ve created a welcoming space for you to enjoy. We listen to your needs and communicate throughout your massage treatments. To ensure that your experience is completely stress free, direct billing is provided to all automobile insurance providers.

Come visit us at Therapeutic Body Concepts and see how our Registered Massage Therapists can make a difference.

For more information about the Alberta Diagnostic and Treatment Protocols, please review the links below.

http://www.qp.alberta.ca/documents/Regs/2014_116.pdf

http://www.finance.alberta.ca/publications/insurance/automobile-insurance/automobile-collision.html

Common Injuries Related to Motor Vehicle Accidents

Whiplash

Whiplash

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Neck and back pain (whiplash) is by far the most common complaint, but any area of the body can be affected.

Massage helps to relax these muscles and restore them back to their original state.  This includes lengthening shortened muscles to restore flexibility, releasing any trigger points that may have developed, relief from pain symptoms, headaches, nerve compression, numbness, muscle spasm, and much more.

Depending on the severity of the accident, and also on the person because everyone responds differently, treatment can take months, sometimes years.  Unfortunately, in some cases, people end up with chronic conditions that they have to get care for the rest of their lives.  We treat many people who were in car accidents years ago that have left them with lingering issues.

Head Injuries

Head Injuries

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A concussion occurs when the brain is bruised, causing blood to pool in the area and swelling to occur. Because the brain is so critical to everything that goes on in the body, a concussion can be very serious, creating a variety of difficulties in various parts of the body as well as compromising the ability to focus and think clearly. Symptoms can be subtle, like having difficulty concentrating, feeling as though you are in a fog or feeling upset or irritable. Not so subtle symptoms include headache, sensitivity to light or sound, changes in vision, confusion, nausea, drowsiness or amnesia.

It is important to remember three things:

1. A concussion can occur even when there is no loss of consciousness. 

2. Concussions can result not only from a direct blow to the head but also from an impact to the neck or body which results in the head being shaken up and the brain being bruised. 

3. Symptoms can be delayed, showing up hours or even days after the injury.