If you’re in pain after a car accident, especially back or neck pain, you will try just about anything to get relief. Two options you may be considering include chiropractic care and acupuncture. Which one is better after a car accident? 

Let’s take a look at the two different treatments to help you decide.

What Is Acupuncture?

Acupuncture is a type of traditional Chinese medicine that involves inserting very thin needles through your skin at strategic points on your body. While acupuncture is mostly used to treat pain, some may use it for stress management or overall wellness. Much of acupuncture’s treatment potential seems to be due to a placebo effect.

What Is Chiropractic Care?

Chiropractic care is a holistic treatment approach that emphasizes the body’s ability to heal itself using:

• Spinal manipulation
• Physical therapy
• Electrical muscle stimulation
• Ultrasound
• Massage therapy

When it comes to treating the underlying cause of your pain rather than just the pain itself, a comprehensive chiropractic care plan may be your best bet for long-term pain relief without surgery or opioids (depending on the type of your injury).

What Is Spinal Manipulation?

Spinal manipulation is a procedure in which chiropractors use a small instrument or their hands to apply a sudden controlled force to a spinal joint to improve spinal motion and your body’s physical function. Lower back pain, neck pain, and headaches may see the most improvement from spinal manipulation.

Benefits of Chiropractic Care

If you’ve pain affecting your muscles, cartilage, bones, joints, and connective tissue, chiropractic care like spinal manipulation offers many benefits, including:

• Less reliance on opioid pain relievers
• Reduced back or neck pain
• High levels of satisfaction with treatment
• Improved posture
• Relief from some types of headaches
• More affordable than some other types of treatment, especially if you don’t have health insurance
• May reduce symptoms of arthritis
• May improve scoliosis symptoms

Which Is Better After a Car Accident, Chiropractic Care or Acupuncture?

Even at low speeds, car accidents can displace the bones in your spine. While the placebo effect from acupuncture may help address some of the pain, only chiropractic care with spinal manipulation can actually put your spine back into alignment, leading to a better long-term outcome.

While chiropractic care and acupuncture can be used together, spinal manipulation – especially in conjunction with physical therapy – is the only way to treat the actual cause of your pain rather than simply addressing the pain itself. That makes chiropractic care the better option for most patients.

Chiropractic Care for South Florida Car Accident Victims

County Line Chiropractic Medical & Rehab Center specializes in treating car accident injuries. During your first visit, we’ll discuss the details of your car accident and symptoms, then do a physical exam along with an MRI, x-ray, or other types of imaging to determine the cause of your pain. Then, we’ll create a customized care plan.

Through spinal manipulation, physical therapy, massage therapy, ultrasound, electrical muscle stimulation, and other appropriate treatments, we can offer non-invasive and natural long-term healing for a variety of injuries. We address and correct the root cause of your pain rather than simply masking the pain.

Schedule an Appointment Today

When you’re ready to start your auto accident healing journey, make an appointment at one of County Line Chiropractic’s 6 South Florida locations. You can find us in East Fort Lauderdale, Plantation, Lauderhill, Miami Gardens, North Miami Beach, and Pembroke Pines.

If your vehicle was totaled in your car accident, we offer transportation services to our auto accident patients.

While we recommend making an appointment, we also accept walk-ins. You may be able to start feeling better as soon as today.