Physical Therapy or Chiropractic?

Neck and upper back pain from a car accident. PT for two months and it hurts worse than ever.

Either can be beneficial...or harmful. What is more of a factor is how the pracitioner practices.

There is great variability in how clinicians practice (part of the problem). If you've tried PT and/or chiropractic and have not had good results, I would go back for another opinion on both. Many are quick to get a different opinion from a physician, therefore, it only makes sense to get a different opinion from another PT or DC. Whoever you see...make sure they try something different than what you've had already.

If you'd like a referral for a good PT, you can find a PT or DC with extra credentialing in treatment of the neck or back by going to http://www.mckenziemdt.org (it will mostly be PTs on this site, but a few DCs as well)

both will help. When I had my car accident I went to PT for 2 months. Now I see a chiropracter once or twice a year for an alignment. Good Luck!

Chiro. PT will only make the muscles better, but if your bones are in the wrong spot, making the muscles stronger will only pull on those bones more. Aligning your spine again FIRST, then strengthening the muscles should make you feel a lot better.

PT, they work under the direction of an orthopedic physician. Chiros do manipulation which can cause more problems.

Hi, I'm a chiropractor. In the case of a MVA(motor vehicle accident) I would advise seeing a chiropractor and possibly a massage therapist. You will have a sprain/strain type of injury, otherwise known as a whiplash. Whiplash injuries can occur at speeds as low as 5 mph, btw. When you have a physical stress, such as a car accident, you can either mechanically "throw" a vertebrae out place directly, or pull one out because of the associated muscle spasm. The vertebrae which are out of place will not return to normal position by themselves, they will need to be "adjusted" by a trained professional, which is a chiropractor. A massage therapist may be helpful also to relieve the muscle spasm. Also, don't expect all of your symptoms to magically disappear after one adjustment. Your muscles like holding the offending vertebrae(s) in the wrong position now and after an adjustment, they will want to pull the offender(s) back out of place again. In todays society, people have unrealistic expectations concerning their healthcare. People are used to taking pills, which mask symptoms. Chiropractic will "fix" the problem...so it will take some time, be patient. A physcial therapist may have been more helpful for rehabilitation AFTER your chiropractic treatments.