I was in a car accident and am still very tight and sore.?

Question:

It has been about four months. I quit physical therapy and opted just to do yoga and go to my chiropractor because all the exercises in physical therapy make it much worse. I feel if my muscles would just calm down and stop being so tight, I could get stronger. I have a lot of lower back inflammation and sometimes nerve pain down the leg. The MRIs don't show anything extreme (like a disc bulge). My main question is this: is it normal for me to be taking this long to be 100% better? (I T-boned a car that illegally entered my lane; I was going 40 mph and had about 1 sec. to stop). Also, why does physical therapy tend to make things worse (this has been my experience in the past). Has anyone else had either of these experiences?

Answers:
This is not a usual reaction. It could be that you had the wrong approach or just simply the wrong approach for you.

Just like medicine, there are many approaches to PT and you need to find the right pracitioner for you.

I think what is also difficult with treating people who've been in car accidents is that there is usually a lot of psychological trauma that occurs with the accident and this is not taken into account for many people. Anxiety can be a limiting factor in physical therapy.

Whiplash associated disorder can have strange and unusual symptoms that cannot always be fully explained. Sometimes it takes a variety of approaches to find the right treatment. One of my own collegues (also a PT) was in three car accidents within two years and found herself really taking about 18 months to fully recover. Five years later, she is still very conscientous of her posture which helps keep her symptoms at bay. She otherwise now lives a normal life.

I'd give PT another go...with a different approach next time...you are right you should not walk out feeling worse. Sometimes what we ask you to do may be painful while you are doing it, but again this should only be momentary.

Good luck

Yes, it is normal to still be experiencing symptoms months after. I was in a low speed rear end collision (he ran into me) and my neck bothered me for 2 years !!! It is now 7 years later and I have disc herniations that no doubt came from that accident per my orthopaedic.

You need to google fibromylgia. It can be brought on by a traumatic incident and it is not uncommon that physical therapy makes your muscles hurt worse when you have this condition. It absolutely kills you when someone attempts to even massage your muscles. It is recommended to continue physical therapy but if they know that you have fibromylgia then they will treat you with a different plan of care.

I was in a car accident and am still very tight and sore.?

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