After the ER or Urgent Care

Already in PT and on Pain Medication After Your Car Accident?

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You went to the ER or urgent care. They told you nothing was broken, gave you a prescription, and referred you to physical therapy. Nobody mentioned a chiropractor, and calling a lawyer never crossed your mind. That's the most common path after a crash, and this page explains what a chiropractic accident evaluation can add to it. 驴Prefiere espa帽ol? Lea ya est谩 en terapia f铆sica despu茅s de un choque.

First Things First

Keep Following Your Doctor's Plan

Nothing on this page is a reason to stop your medication or skip physical therapy. Your doctor's job was to rule out fractures and serious injury, and to get your pain under control. If you come in, tell us what you're taking and what PT has you doing. We'll let your doctor know you've started care here and why.

Go back to the ER or call 911 if you have:

  • Numbness, tingling, or weakness in your arms or legs that's new or getting worse
  • Loss of bladder or bowel control
  • A severe or worsening headache, confusion, vomiting, or trouble staying awake
  • Chest pain or trouble breathing
Different Jobs

What Each Part of Your Care Does

The ER or urgent care

Rules out fractures, internal injuries, and anything life-threatening. It usually isn't set up to evaluate soft tissue and joint injuries in detail, or to follow them over weeks.

Pain medication

Makes pain manageable so you can sleep and function. It can also make it harder to tell how much pain you'd have without it, so we ask what you're taking and when.

Physical therapy

Exercises and hands-on work to restore strength and movement, usually on the schedule your doctor ordered.

A chiropractic accident evaluation

An exam focused on the joints and soft tissue of the spine after a crash, measured with the same validated scales at every re-evaluation, and documented visit by visit.

Why the Record Matters

The Part Most People Find Out About Too Late

Months after a crash, when an insurance company asks what your injuries were, the answer comes from what was written down at the time. Symptoms from a collision commonly show up in the hours or days after a crash, and they change over the following weeks. If the only record is an ER note from the day of the crash, the weeks that followed aren't documented anywhere.

We measure at the first visit, at each re-evaluation, and at discharge, including what you've stopped doing since the crash: lifting your kid, working a full shift, driving more than twenty minutes. That record exists whether or not you ever file a claim or hire anyone. If you haven't seen a chiropractor yet, here is what a first chiropractor visit after a crash involves, and which reporting dates apply from your crash date.

About Lawyers

You Don't Need a Lawyer to Be Seen

Plenty of people don't want to "make it a whole thing." That's your decision, and it doesn't stop you from getting care. In California you can see a chiropractor directly, without a lawyer and without a referral. Care can be paid through your own auto insurance or MedPay, the other driver's insurance, or a lien if you do have an attorney. We verify your coverage and confirm your cost in writing before your first visit.

If you later decide to talk to a lawyer, the records from your care will already exist. For step-by-step help with the claim side, see the Crash Kit and the car accident insurance cheat sheet.

Before You Add Anything

Ask Your PT or the Doctor Who Ordered It

Before you start here, ask whoever ordered your physical therapy whether they are fine with you adding a chiropractic exam, and tell them what you are planning. If your doctor would rather you wait, wait: that is a decision between the two of you, not ours. With your go-ahead, the clinic lets your doctor know you have started care here and why.

Keeping Everyone Current

What to Tell Each Provider

Pain medication also changes what you feel during an exam, which is why the clinic asks what you are taking and when the last dose was.

Two Files, Not One

The Records Are Kept Separately

Each office keeps its own chart. Physical therapy keeps theirs and the chiropractic clinic keeps its own; neither writes in the other's, and they are not merged into a single document.

What that means in practice: if someone asks for your history later, they have to request it from each office separately, and you or your attorney get a copy from each. The clinic tells you in writing what is in your file and how to request it — see what gets documented and why. You do not need an attorney for any of this: see do I need a lawyer to see a chiropractor after a car accident?

驴Prefiere espa帽ol? Lea ya est谩 en terapia f铆sica despu茅s de un choque.

Common Questions

What People Ask Us

Should I stop physical therapy or my medication to see a chiropractor?
No. Keep following your doctor's plan. Tell us what you're taking and what PT is doing, and we'll let your doctor know you've started care here.
Do I need a lawyer to see a chiropractor after a car accident?
No. In California you can see a chiropractor directly, without a lawyer or a referral. Auto insurance, MedPay, PIP, and liens accepted, and we confirm your cost in writing before your first visit.
Will my auto insurance pay if I'm already in PT?
Often it can, depending on your coverage. MedPay on your own auto policy, or the at-fault driver's insurance, may cover accident-related care from more than one provider. We verify your coverage before your first visit.

Get Evaluated This Week

Same-day appointments in downtown Oakland, in English, Spanish or Russian. We see patients from Fruitvale, East Oakland, West Oakland, and across the East Bay.

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