3 Tips for At-Home Care After You Have Been in a Car Accident This Holiday Season
Car accidents can be traumatizing—impacting both your mental and physical function. While you might have the insurance side of things covered, your body may feel achy and sore from the impact. At Tampa Spine and Wellness, we’re here to help.
Below, we outline three tips for at-home care following a car accident. During this initial recovery period, it’s important to listen to your body, giving it time to recover. Additionally, if you’re experiencing severe pain or symptoms, we recommend seeking out emergency medical care. Sometimes, at-home care just isn’t enough, but a qualified doctor can determine what’s going on beneath the surface, as well as help you get on the road toward recovery. With that in mind, here are our top tips!
Tip #1: Drink Up!
Aim for a minimum of six glasses of water per day. These extra fluids can help reduce inflammation and help your body heal. And you might just want to add a bit of vitamin C to that water (or also grab some orange juice or other vitamin C-rich foods).
Vitamin C plays a critical role in healing. First off, it helps with collagen production post-injury, which is essential for any soft tissue injuries. Vitamin C also acts as an antioxidant in the body; this means it can also help reduce inflammation.
Vitamin C can be found as a powder at your local pharmacy. Or, sometimes, you can find it as part of an electrolyte pack—which may be even better! Electrolytes are often under-utilized but play a significant role in keeping you adequately hydrated. In fact, without enough electrolytes, you might actually be depleting your body of precious minerals by chugging back water.
Tip #2: Avoid Heavy Lifting
Take this time to rest from intense or heavy lifting activities. While light movement is encouraged (and can be helpful), we don’t want to add stress to an already stressed-out body. This could injure yourself further and make your road toward a full recovery that much longer.
Instead, try sticking to gentle stretching or walking. Most activities that don’t increase pain or stress should be okay.
Tip #3: Use Ice & Heat, As Needed
For injuries, ice and heat can be a gamechanger. They can help:
Combat inflammation
Reduce pain
Decrease muscle tension
It’s often finding what works best for you. Some may find alternating between the two works best. Meanwhile, others may prefer one or the other. Whichever one you choose, ensure you place a towel between your skin and the ice or hot pack, and only apply the packs for 20 minutes at a time.
If you’re interested in more help getting back on your feet, our team at Tampa Spine and Wellness is ready to help. For chiropractic care in Tampa, contact us to book your appointment. Together, we can determine the best way forward to achieve your goals.
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