When I was hit by a drunk driver, the last thing I wanted was to mess with insurance. The other guy's insurance company was willing to pay for massage therapy. But I didn't have the time. And as a result, I was not fully protected.
Massage Therapy is one of the most effective healing tools available. It calms the muscles and mind down after a traumatic incident. It increases blood flow to the muscles, which increases healing. A great massage therapist will ask about the accident, and learn which muscles were tightened and harmed during the accident. As a result, your body will heal. Massage Therapy is the science of healing muscle. It is the only industry focused exclusively on healing muscle tightness and soreness. Seek out a massage therapist immediately if you are in a car accident to prevent those muscles from staying tight because of whiplash or injury.
I have outlined the steps describing how to get massage therapy for a car accident (or any accident) with the other person's insurance company paying for it. These steps are the first 4 steps you should take immediately. Within 24 hours of the accident, take these steps to protect yourself. You must act quickly, or you may forfeit your care to the insurance company's policies. To ensure you are well, follow these 4 steps below.
1. VISIT a Doctor or Chiropractor for a Doctor's Note
You need a doctor's recommendation for a massage. It's a medical recommendation, like any other activity or prescription. Schedule a single doctor's visit, and have your doctor recommend massage therapy as treatment. If you are injured on the weekend, visit a 24 hour clinic. Any doctor can prescribe massage therapy if you ask for it. But you must ask for it.
2. TREAT Yourself Immediately
The insurance companies have a policy called having a "Gap in Care." It means that if you are not getting your treatments consistently and immediately after the accident, then you are not really hurt. If you are going to get massage therapy to remedy accident pain, then start immediately. And don't stop getting regular treatments until you are better. Changes to your treatment plan or providers is fine, but do NOT stop getting some sort of treatment, or the insurance companies will claim you have a "gap in care." And they will not accept your claim.
3. BEWARE of Delayed Pain
Whiplash can show up several weeks after accident. What happens is that the body goes into hyper-protection mode, as a safety measure. It pours adrenaline, and other chemicals into your body for several weeks to protect you from hurting (so you can escape the dangerous land of other cave people, ya know, with deadly mountain lions and other creatures). Then your body starts repairing weeks later. That repair period is when the pain really start.
Often, you won't seek immediate treatment because you feel fine, then you start feeling really bad weeks later. Continue your massage therapy treatments for at least a month to make sure you prevent serious whiplash from affecting your productivity. The insurance companies understand this too. So continue treatment for at least month. And longer if you are genuinely in pain.
4. ASK Questions of the Insurance Company
Some insurance companies pay as you go. Other insurance companies want to pay out the claim at the end of treatment. Ask them lots of questions on their process. The adjustor is simply following a set of rules. If you can learn the rules, you can make the most of the claim (and save yourself a lot of headaches). Work within the system, not against it. Some great questions include, "How does the claim process work?" "Can I get checks as I submit receipts, or do you pay out all at once towards the end."
Regardless of what happened, everyone involved wants to see you get better fast. So act quickly. And start a consistent treatment, and continue with it, until you are better. Good luck and Feel Better!
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