If you have some aches and pains after being in a car accident, you should know you have options regarding your treatment. One you may want to consider is seeing a chiropractor, instead of your primary care physician, for post-accident care. Why would you want to do that, and what could you expect by going that route? Here are some benefits of seeing a chiropractor after a car accident to consider:

• Careful Diagnostics and Testing

  You can expect the same level of diagnostic testing from a chiropractor as you would from a mainstream physician. Your chiropractor will probably take x-rays or MRI scans, and perhaps even order tests from a lab to determine exactly what’s going on in your body. These tests are important because overlooking something — even if it doesn’t happen to be causing you pain at the moment — increases the risk of a chronic condition further down the road.

• Musculoskeletal-Focused Training

  One of the greatest benefits of seeing a chiropractor after a car accident, as opposed to an M.D., is that chiropractors spend the bulk of their training focused on exactly the issues likely to arise after a car accident: neuromusculoskeletal pain stemming from alignment problems, crunched joints and torn muscles and tendons. Rather than treating the pain as a separate problem and just prescribing painkillers for it, as many other types of doctors would, chiropractors work to figure out what is going on in your bones and muscles to cause that pain. This allows you to get relief while avoiding pharmaceutical interventions.

• Comprehensive Treatment

  Although chiropractic treatment plans center on chiropractic adjustments, most chiropractic clinics offer a range of supplemental services that can make your recovery faster and more comfortable. Massage therapy is frequently used to ease muscular tensions that lead to pain after an accident, and you’ll probably also be given some exercises to do at home as part of your physical rehab. These steps will both help you to heal more quickly and prevent reinjury.

Have you seen or would you consider seeing a chiropractor after a car accident? Share your thoughts in the comments.