I’ve been in a car accident. I think I’m ok, but I’ve been feeling kind of “off” ever since. I did get stiff the next day. Is this something I should worry about?
Car accidents, no matter how minor they seem, are pretty significant sources of trauma. Anyone who has experienced an impact in a car knows the shock and jarring force that is involved, even at low speeds. Anytime we experience trauma, our body goes into a fight-or-flight response. Our eyes dilate, our heart pumps faster, our blood is directed to our muscles, and the higher thinking centers of our brain are effectively “taken offline.” Our bodies move into survival mode, and our lower instinctual brain takes over. That’s how we are designed and physiologically wired, and this is a natural response to trauma. What’s important for optimal recovery is how quickly we can move out of that defended state and into a healing one. The best thing to do is to have your spine and your self assessed within the first 72 hours of the accident. That is the window of time that sets the stage for the quality of your body’s healing.