The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that approximately 3 million Americans are injured in car accidents every year. This startling statistic shows just how common car accident injuries can be.
If you’ve recently been injured in a motor vehicle accident, you should consider using physical therapy as part of your recovery process. Physical therapists can treat car accident injuries; they also offer therapy techniques that are intended to help reduce injury recovery times. However, you might be wondering just how long you might have to go to physical therapy after a car accident.
How long you should go to physical therapy after a car accident is affected by several factors
The length of time you’ll need to go to a physical therapist after a car accident can vary. There are several factors that can affect how long you’re in therapy, but there are five factors in particular that you should be aware of.
- Type of injury — Different injuries often require more or less time in physical therapy. A muscle strain could only take a few days or weeks to treat. However, more serious injuries like whiplash or fractures can require months of therapy.
- Fitness level — Your fitness level can have a big effect on how long your physical therapy takes. People who are in good shape tend to have advantages: Their muscles are strong and flexible, providing adequate support to joints and other structures. Fit people also tend to have better blood flow to their body parts. All these points can help decrease how long you need to do physical therapy.
- How old the injury is — Some car accident injuries might not show symptoms for days or weeks after the accident happens. In some cases, the injury might not start bothering you until years later. Physical therapy can help treat old car accident injuries, but they’ll often require longer treatment times. This is why you should get checked out for injuries right after the accident, even if you aren’t feeling any symptoms.
SSOR can help reduce how long you spend doing physical therapy after a car accident
Are you searching for a physical therapy team that can decrease the time you’re spending in therapy after a car accident? Our team at SSOR is the team you’re looking for. We offer complimentary screenings to help streamline the start of your therapy process. Our team also builds personalized treatment plans that are intended to help you heal as fast as possible.
Contact us today for more information about how we treat car accident injuries or to schedule your initial appointment.