A question that I get asked is how long should I wait after a recent fall or maybe an auto accident to be examined? We’ll, that answer is quite simple and I have always said that the longer you wait to address or fix something the harder it will be to correct. Let say you were recently involved in an auto accident, this accident didn't seem like much, but you were a little sore for a couple days and then maybe after several weeks your neck became a little stiff and restricted that was the beginning of some of the long-term effects of having some thing not addressed immediately after it happened. You're driving down the road and you hit a pothole going 55 miles an hour. You do have a couple choices, you can continue to drive thousands of miles with your being out of alignment or you can stop by a auto mechanic and have your tires realign so it doesn't cause long-term damage or wear and tear on your tire.

This goes the same for any other injury or fall that you may have. Research shows that just within two weeks, you can have permanent wear and tear on the joints and connective tissue that would lead to degeneration of the joints and disc regions causing imbalance in joint movements, restriction of spastic muscles and abnormal biomechanics in your body. The long-term effects of not having something addressed immediately can lead to chronic pain, limited and restriction motion, and tight and tense muscles that you may be dealing with for the rest of your life.

As a chiropractor, it is important to have your spine checked after a recent fall or injury, so that the subluxation or misalignment of the spine can be corrected. This spinal adjustment correction, allows for proper nerve flow to glands, organs, and tissues so your body can work and function at 100%. So to answer your question, when should I get checked after a recent accident or injury? The sooner the better , so that the misalignment from the injury cannot lead to chronic arthritic degeneration and pain levels that the simplicity of a realignment of your spine will get your body back to working and functioning as 100% thanks for reading, Dr. Joe