What advantages does a chiropractic and nurse practitioner therapy combination provide for spinal health after a motor vehicle accident?
Benefits of Chiropractic and Nurse Practitioners for Motor Vehicle Collisions
Motor vehicle accidents (MVCs) are one of the most common causes of spinal injuries, such as whiplash, herniated discs, and soft tissue injury. These injuries can cause a lot of discomfort and make moving hard. To treat these injuries, you often need to use a variety of approaches to deal with both the immediate symptoms and the long-term healing. Chiropractors focus on caring for the bones and muscles, especially making adjustments to the spine and doing manual therapies. On the other hand, nurse practitioners are advanced practice registered nurses who do medical exams, write prescriptions, and help manage a person's overall health. The goal of these clinicians working together is to provide a patient-centered, all-around approach to spine health after an MVC. (Kent, R., et al., 2023)
A chiropractic and nurse practitioner team can provide a comprehensive spinal health treatment for individuals recovering from car accident injuries, focusing on pain management and mobility improvement.
- A chiropractic and nurse practitioner team can offer a comprehensive approach to spinal health after a car accident by addressing pain, improving mobility, and facilitating faster recovery.
- Chiropractors focus on spinal alignment and joint mobility.
- Nurse practitioners provide broader medical oversight and patient education.
- The team approach can lead to more effective and personalized care for individuals recovering from car accident injuries. (Riva, J. J., et al., 2010)
Principal advantages of this cooperative strategy
Multidisciplinary and Holistic Care
- Results are better for patients with spinal injuries caused by motor vehicle collisions (MSVs), persistent neck pain, and headaches when chiropractors and nurse practitioners work together to treat the underlying causes as well as the symptoms. (Riva, J. J., et al., 2010)
Tailored Therapy Programs
- Chiropractors and NPs design individualized treatment programs, considering each patient's unique circumstances, including any history of accidents or health issues, current medications, and preexisting conditions. This method improves results by customizing treatment to each individual's needs.
An Alternative to Relying Excessively on Medications for Pain Management
- Chiropractic uses non-invasive methods to treat pain, which may reduce opiate consumption. NPs provide short-term painkillers and evaluate adverse effects to reduce reliance and ensure safety. Natural pain relief with medical supervision decreases reliance and side effects. (Prater, C., Tepe, M., & Battaglia, P. 2020)
More expedient recuperation and rehabilitation
- In motor vehicle accident treatment, chiropractic adjustments restore joint function and alleviate muscular spasms. NPs can refer patients to physical therapy and track progress, speeding recovery and reducing chronic back pain. Coordinated care speeds recovery and reduces chronic back pain.
Legal Assistance and Insurance
- Chiropractic and medical professionals must meticulously document injuries and treatments for insurance claims or legal cases post-MVC, ensuring fair compensation and coverage for care.
Why It Is Effective After MVC
Chiropractic and Functional Medicine Clinic for Injuries
Personal Injury Rehabilitation
The information herein is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified healthcare professional or licensed physician and is not medical advice. We encourage you to make healthcare decisions based on your research and partnership with a qualified healthcare professional. Our information scope is limited to chiropractic, musculoskeletal, and physical medicines, wellness, sensitive health issues, functional medicine articles, topics, and discussions. We provide and present clinical collaboration with specialists from various disciplines. Each specialist is governed by their professional scope of practice and their jurisdiction of licensure. We use functional health & wellness protocols to treat and support care for the injuries or disorders of the musculoskeletal system. Our videos, posts, topics, subjects, and insights cover clinical matters, issues, and topics that relate to and directly or indirectly support our clinical scope of practice. Our office has reasonably attempted to provide supportive citations and identified the relevant research studies or studies supporting our posts. We provide copies of supporting research studies that are available to regulatory boards and the public upon request.
We understand that we cover matters that require an additional explanation of how they may assist in a particular care plan or treatment protocol. To discuss the subject matter above further, please contact Dr. Alex Jimenez or us at 915-50-0900.
Dr. Alex Jimenez, DC, MSACP, CCST, IFMCP*, CIFM*, ATN*
Email: coach@elpasofunctionalmedicine.com
Licensed in: Texas & New Mexico*
References
Kent, R., Cormier, J., McMurry, T. L., Johan Ivarsson, B., Funk, J., Hartka, T., & Sochor, M. (2023). Spinal injury rates and specific causation in motor vehicle collisions. Accident; analysis and prevention, 186, 107047. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2023.107047
Riva, J. J., Muller, G. D., Hornich, A. A., Mior, S. A., Gupta, A., & Burnie, S. J. (2010). Chiropractors and collaborative care: An overview illustrated with a case report. The Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association, 54(3), 147–154.
Prater, C., Tepe, M., & Battaglia, P. (2020). Integrating a Multidisciplinary Pain Team and Chiropractic Care in a Community Health Center: An Observational Study of Managing Chronic Spinal Pain. Journal of primary care & community health, 11, 2150132720953680. https://doi.org/10.1177/2150132720953680
