Car accident chiropractor in Coral Springs & Parkland

What should you do in the first 72 hours after a car accident?

Seeing a car accident chiropractor within the first few days matters for two reasons: injuries from a collision are easiest to treat before the body builds scar tissue and guarding around them, and Florida’s insurance rules put a clock on your care. Adrenaline masks pain for 24–72 hours, so ‘I felt fine at the scene’ is the most common sentence we hear in our Coral Springs clinic from people who are very much not fine a week later.

1. Get checked for emergencies first. Loss of consciousness, confusion, severe headache, vomiting, chest pain, numbness in both arms or legs, or any inability to move normally — please see a doctor or urgent care today before anything else.
2. Document the scene. Photos of the vehicles and the road, the other driver’s information, the police report number, and the names of any witnesses.
3. Write down your symptoms daily. Neck stiffness, headache, back pain, tingling, sleep problems, dizziness. Symptoms that appear on day two or three are typical of whiplash and are still accident-related.
4. Notify your auto insurer. Florida is a no-fault state; your own Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage is usually the first payer for medical care regardless of who caused the crash.
5. Book an evaluation. Florida’s PIP law generally requires initial medical treatment within 14 days of the accident to preserve benefits, and an early exam creates the baseline every later record is measured against.

Florida’s 14-day PIP rule: what it means for your treatment

Florida’s Personal Injury Protection statute generally requires that a person injured in a motor vehicle accident receive initial medical services within 14 days of the accident for PIP benefits to apply. Treatment can be provided by, or under the referral of, a licensed physician, chiropractic physician, dentist or hospital, among others. Chiropractic physicians are specifically included, which is why a car accident chiropractor is an appropriate first stop for the spinal and soft tissue injuries collisions cause.

Two further points are worth knowing. PIP typically covers a percentage of reasonable medical expenses up to the policy limit, and the amount available can depend on whether an ’emergency medical condition’ is documented by a qualifying provider. We are careful to describe these rules generally, because the details depend on your policy and your situation; your insurer or attorney can confirm how they apply to you.

Common car accident injuries we treat (and the ones we refer out)

Even a low-speed rear-end collision transfers enough force to the body to sprain ligaments, strain muscles and injure discs. These are the patterns a car accident chiropractor sees most, roughly in order of frequency:

• Whiplash (cervical acceleration-deceleration injury). The head snaps backward then forward, straining the neck’s ligaments, muscles and facet joints. Neck pain, stiffness, headaches at the base of the skull, shoulder pain and sometimes dizziness, usually peaking 24–72 hours after the crash. See our whiplash treatment page for the full program.
• Cervical and lumbar disc injuries. The compressive and shearing forces of a collision can bulge or herniate a disc. Arm or leg pain, tingling or weakness after a crash points to a nerve root and is a decompression case. See herniated disc treatment.
• Sacroiliac (SI) joint sprain. Bracing a foot on the brake pedal drives force up one leg into the pelvis, straining the SI joint. One-sided low back and hip pain that flares standing from a chair or climbing stairs. See our hip and SI joint guide.
• Mid-back and rib joint sprains from the seat belt and seat back — sharp pain between the shoulder blades, worse with deep breaths or twisting.
• Shoulder, wrist and knee injuries from bracing on the wheel or striking the dash.

Some symptoms are not ours to treat first. Headache with confusion, memory problems, nausea, light sensitivity or unusual fatigue after a crash can indicate a concussion; chest pain, shortness of breath, abdominal pain, or numbness in both arms or legs can indicate injuries that need imaging and medical management. In those cases we refer you to the appropriate physician or urgent care right away and coordinate the spinal care afterwards.

How a car accident chiropractor evaluates the injury (visit 1)

Accident injuries are measured, not guessed, because the baseline exam is both the foundation of your treatment plan and the first page of your medical record. Your first visit at our Coral Springs clinic includes:

1. A detailed history of the collision. Direction of impact, speed, head position, seat belt use, headrest position, airbag deployment, and the timeline of every symptom since. These details correlate with specific injury patterns.
2. A hands-on structural exam. Cervical, thoracic and lumbar range of motion measured in degrees, orthopedic tests for ligament, disc and joint injury, and neurological screening of the arms and legs (reflexes, strength, sensation).
3. Surface EMG and thermal scanning. A painless scan that objectively shows where the muscles along the spine are guarding and where nerve irritation is present. Because it is repeatable, it documents both the injury and the recovery.
4. Digital X-rays when indicated. To rule out fracture and instability and to assess alignment — a loss of the normal cervical curve is common after whiplash. We review any ER imaging you already have.

Visit two is your report of findings: the exam results, scans and images explained in plain English and mapped to a treatment plan with a specific frequency and duration. Treatment begins that day.

The documentation we provide for your claim

We handle your PIP claim for you. We bill your auto insurer directly and our front desk takes care of the PIP claim paperwork, so you can focus on getting better instead of chasing forms.

Accurate records protect your recovery and your claim, and a car accident chiropractor who measures carefully produces records that hold up. Dr. Jared Cohen and the team provide:

• An initial examination report with the mechanism of injury, objective findings (range of motion in degrees, orthopedic and neurological results, sEMG and thermal findings, imaging) and the clinical diagnosis.
• A written treatment plan with the recommended frequency, duration and goals, updated at each re-evaluation.
• Daily treatment notes documenting what was done and how you responded.
• Re-evaluation reports at regular intervals, including repeat sEMG and thermal scans that show measurable progress.
• Itemized billing suitable for PIP submission, and direct communication with your attorney’s office if you have one.

We do not inflate findings and we do not prolong care that is no longer needed — honest, objective records are what serve patients best, and they are what insurers and attorneys trust.

How we treat car accident injuries: the 4R Method

Car accident treatment at The Spine and Wellness Center follows the 4R Method — Repair, Rebuild, Regenerate, Refine — because collision injuries heal in a sequence. A car accident chiropractor who skips steps leaves people with the chronic neck or back pain that follows so many crashes.

R1 · Repair — calm the injury (3–5 visits a week, 4–8 weeks)

Early care focuses on inflammation and guarding: cold laser and therapeutic ultrasound over sprained ligaments and facet joints, gentle massage and soft tissue work for spasm, low-force adjustments to restore motion to locked segments once acute inflammation settles, and spinal decompression for disc injuries with arm or leg symptoms.

R2 · Rebuild — restore strength and alignment (2–3 visits a week, 8–16 weeks)

Whiplash commonly flattens the cervical curve and switches off the deep neck flexors; lumbar injuries do the same to the core. Physical therapy, corrective chiropractic and Graston Technique for the scar tissue that forms after ligament sprains rebuild the structure so the injury does not become a chronic problem.

R3 · Regenerate and R4 · Refine

Regenerate supports tissue quality with red light and PEMF; Refine is a brief monthly tune-up for patients who want to protect the recovery. Most uncomplicated whiplash cases are discharged from active care well before this point.

What to expect from recovery after a collision

Most whiplash and soft tissue injuries improve substantially within six to twelve weeks of structured care with a car accident chiropractor, and the best predictor of a good outcome is starting early and staying active. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke notes that most people with whiplash recover within a few months, while a minority develop persistent symptoms — the group early, active care aims to keep small (NINDS, Whiplash Information Page).

Between visits: keep the neck and back moving gently rather than bracing in a collar, apply ice during the first 48 hours and heat for stiffness after that, keep screens at eye level, and avoid heavy lifting until cleared. Tell us immediately about new numbness, weakness, dizziness or headaches. If you would like a head start before your first visit, take the 60-second spine assessment.

Serving car accident injury patients across North Broward

Our clinic at 5675 Coral Ridge Drive, Coral Springs, FL 33076 serves Coral Springs, Parkland, Coconut Creek, Margate, Boca Raton, Tamarac, Pompano Beach and Deerfield Beach. Same-day appointments are usually available — call (954) 341-2256 or book online. Most patients from Parkland and Coral Springs are here in under 15 minutes.

Medically reviewed by Dr. Jared Cohen, DC — Co-Founder & Clinical Director, The Spine and Wellness Center. Last reviewed October 2026.

Frequently asked questions