Pre-Accident Health and How It Affects Post Accident Recovery

Why Pre-Accident Health Affects Post-Accident Recovery

A motor vehicle accident (MVA) can lead to a wide range of injuries, from minor bruises to more severe traumas. Not everyone recovers at the same speed. One of the keys to the speed of your recovery times will lie within how healthy you were at the start. Your overall physical, mental, and even emotional well-being before the accident plays a large role in how your body responds and heals after an injury. Dr. Aaron Workman, a team member of one of the highest rated car accident medical care programs in Lexington, discusses 5 different areas of health that affect your speed of recovery.

1. Health and Strength:

Patients with strong muscles, flexible joints, and good overall health sometimes recover faster because their bodies are more resilient to the force of trauma. A physically active person might have better muscle tone and circulation, which can aid in reducing inflammation and soft tissue repair. If a patient already suffers with other medical conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or obesity then recovery time is going to take longer. Conditions like these will reduce blood flow, increase inflammation, and likely make everything hurt more.

2. Pre-Existing Musculoskeletal Problems:

Conditions such as arthritis, degenerative disc disease, or previous injuries to the neck, back, shoulders or knees can worsen after an accident. A patient with moderate arthritis in the knee might have more pain and swelling after an MVA versus someone with healthy knees. This type of injury can also make your previous injuries worse and even chronic if not addressed properly.

3. Mental Health:

Patients that are already suffering with anxiety, depression, PTSD are going to find it much harder to adapt to the stress an MVA will bring. This additional stress can wreak havoc on the body making it harder to cope with physical and mental pain. If a patient experiences more depression, they may miss therapy appointments. Increased anxiety may make the patient more hypersensitive to the pain which can prolong their recovery.

4. Lifestyle Habits:

Those that smoke, have a poor diet, or fail to follow a sleep schedule can also affect their recovery time. Smoking can slow wound healing, a poor diet can lead to a deficiency in what the body needs to heal, and the lack of sleep can steal away the time the body has to heal.

5. Age:

If you are not as young as you used to be, then your recovery time is going to increase. Youth will allow faster regeneration and recovery from an injury. The compounding of all your different health problems, combined with your age, can have a significant impact on your recovery.

The state of your health before an MVA will determine how long recovery is going to take. This makes the health history an important part of setting patient expectations with therapies or treatment. If there are multiple problems from this list in a patient’s history, then I make sure the patient understands it will take longer for them to heal. An MVA can have a profound effect on your overall health, daily routine, and ability to enjoy life. If you have found yourself suffering following an MVA, the doctors at Chambers Medical Group can help.

— This article is written by Aaron Workman, DC, one of the members of Chambers Medical Group’s team of car accident chiropractors who offer a variety of treatments and therapies ranging from diagnostic testing to various soft tissue therapies for car accidents and injuries in Kentucky.

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