Feeling fine today doesn't mean you weren't injured
Some people don't notice pain right away. Plenty of people decline care at the scene, feel stiff on Wednesday, and can't turn their head by Friday. That sequence is ordinary, not unusual.
Sore after a collision?
Most of the pain people call us about didn't start at the crash. It started in the hours or days after a crash.
CrashHoursDaysWeeks
Neck pain, headaches, dizziness, broken sleep and trouble concentrating most often begin in the shaded window.
Tell your own doctor
Contact your primary care physician and describe the collision and any symptoms, even mild ones. Do this early. Your own doctor knowing about the crash matters for your care.
Write down what you can't do
Not how much it hurts — what changed. The tasks you're now doing in pain, and the things you've stopped doing altogether. Lifting your kid. Sleeping through the night. Sitting through a shift. Driving on the freeway.
Keep it on your phone and add to it as you notice things. This is the part everyone forgets, and it can't be reconstructed from memory six months out.
Get examined
A physical examination can identify soft-tissue and joint injuries that imaging alone may not show. X-rays and CT scans rule out fractures; they're not designed to find the ligament and muscle injuries that cause most post-collision pain.
You may be seen by any licensed provider you choose. That is your decision and no one else's.
Go to an emergency room now if you have
Severe or worsening headache · numbness or weakness in an arm or leg · loss of consciousness at any point · confusion or memory trouble · vision changes · chest pain · abdominal pain or bruising across the seatbelt line. These need an emergency department, not a chiropractor.
If you want to be examined here
We're a two-doctor chiropractic practice in downtown Oakland. We examine and treat people after collisions.
Call now- Examination and treatment in English, Spanish, and Russian
- Auto insurance, MedPay, PIP, and liens accepted
- Validated outcome measures at intake, every re-evaluation, and discharge