For people involved in auto accidents, it can be a difficult time for them trying to navigate the system finding the right medical providers. Oftentimes they will just listen to their attorneys, if a lawsuit is involved, to direct them to Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, and doctors. Attorneys usually tend to refer their clients to providers that they have an arrangement with, instead of sending them to the top providers in the area. What so many patients don’t realize is that they have absolute freedom to choose their own medical providers, whether their attorney is friends with them or not. Doing proactive research is a great way to discover top providers in the area, in order to get the best medical care possible.

All medical providers work with attorney’s offices in the case that they need paperwork, treatment notes, and all documents necessary for potential litigation or settlements. But not all medical offices can offer the highest standard of care that is sufficient to each individual patient. So it’s up to the patient to attempt to figure out who are the top providers in the area for their individual condition and their overall needs.

Patients involved in car wrecks typically have spinal injuries that can take several weeks to several months to recover from. Injuries that are commonly seen following a car accident include herniated discs, fractured vertebrae, reversed curvature, ruptured tendons, ruptured ligaments, osteoarthritis, facet joint pain, whiplash, osteoarthritis. cervical pain, thoracic pain, lumbar pain, sacral pain, and sacroiliac joint pain. Even soft tissue spinal injuries in the muscles, tendons, and ligaments surrounding the spinal cord can be difficult to rehab, as severe strains or sprains can be the same as small partial tears. Joint breakdown, cartilage damage, and resulting osteoarthritis can be observed in spinal discs, facet joints, and in the sacroiliac joints.

Other common injuries to the extremities include shoulder pain, traumatic shoulder impingement, rotator cuff tears, rotator cuff strains, labral tears, shoulder dislocations, rib fractures, pelvic pain, hip pain, hip fractures, knee pain, traumatic chondromalacia, ankle pain, ankle fractures, foot pain, and foot fractures. We work with all types of wrist injuries, including Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Tendinitis, Bursitis, Ulnar Nerve Compression, Medial Nerve Compression, Wrist Fractures, Dislocations, Strains, Sprains, and all pre and post surgical repairs.

It’s important to find providers who have great experience working with Orthopedic injuries, and who excel at Manual Therapy. Finding such providers will give you the confidence to know that you are on the path to relief and full recovery from the injuries and pain. Manual Therapy sessions can include Therapeutic Massage, Myofascial Release, Trigger Point, Joint Mobilizations, Strain/ Counterstrain, Joint Distraction, Deep Sports Massage, and Manual Traction. It’s also best to find medical providers within a close proximity to either your home or your business to increase the convenience of going there. Some providers may provide Home Services for patients out of area or to increase the consistency of delivery of care.

With such a myriad of complex injuries and choices available, I strongly advise automobile accident patients not to blindly follow the advice of their attorneys, but instead to follow their own independent research to find the best possible team of Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, and doctors on the market.