Category Archives for Car Accidents

Natural Remedies for Back Pain After Car Accident

Natural Remedies for Back Pain After Car Accident

After a car accident, you may feel physically, mentally or emotionally drained. When recovering from back injuries, it is best to consult a doctor to get diagnosed and receive treatment for your condition. Your doctor can prescribe medication and therapy that will help eliminate and treat back pain.

While seeking medical attention is necessary, there are also natural remedies for back pain outside of regular medicine that will help reduce inflammation, while soothing and reducing any back pain that you are currently experiencing.

Using Essential Oils

Essential oils are made up of compounds of various plants, herbs, and flowers. Oils are used during aromatherapy and massage to encourage relaxation. Not only do these oils smell good, but they are therapeutic. Certain oils, such as rosemary, peppermint, and lavender, help reduce inflammation due to tissues that are injured. They help increase blood flow to the area that has been hurt. Adding drops of essential oil to a bath can help relieve pain just as much as soaking in warm water.

Never use the oils without some dilution. It is best to use a few drops mixed with water or carrier oil before applying directly on your skin.

Massage or Chiropractic Care

A great massage can help you deal with serious back pain relief. When your back muscles are being massaged, it helps the blood flow to the area as well as help heal any soreness and pain. Getting a massage also helps you to relax and reduce tension to an injured area that is causing increased inflammation.

Another treatment for back pain is to visit a chiropractor.  Qualified chiropractic and naturopathic doctors are often knowledgeable about back pain since they have extensive training in various musculoskeletal disorders and musculoskeletal management.

Acupuncture

Back pain is one of the most common reasons some people try acupuncture. Extensive research suggests acupuncture can be effective in reducing chronic back pain.  While it is not completely known how acupuncture helps deal with pain, one theory suggests acupuncture can trigger pain-reducing chemicals in the body, such as natural opioids and endorphins that can provide pain relief.

Stay Hydrated

Water is essential for our bodies to function. It contains electrolytes and minerals, while also being a solvent that breaks down the vitamins and other nutritional elements in the food we eat. Water helps the body procure these elements for essential nutrition.

Water also makes up blood plasma that allows red blood cells to circulate and carry oxygen to our muscles and organs, while eliminating carbon dioxide and waste. It provides fluids that support the cells’ interior.

When your tissues are injured, the need for adequate water supply is critical. The injured tissues require more blood flow to heal, and it helps flush away acids so that damaged cells are replaced by healthy cells.

If you do not take in enough water, it slows down the healing process and your back will take a longer time to recover from your injury.

Applying Heat and Cold Compresses

When you are in pain, the warmth of a thermal wrap, a nice hot shower or a heating pad can work wonders. Heat helps soothe injured tissue and blocks pain receptors while increasing blood flow. It also helps to reduce swelling and flush away excess fluid.

Applying heat also contributes to overall relaxation as long as you do not overdo it. Using heat for fifteen minutes every few hours is usually sufficient to provide back pain relief.

Applying cold packs will also reduce back pain and moving the healing process along. Cold compresses or ice can help reduce inflammation of the muscles and act like pain blockers by slowing down nerve impulses. They keep the nerves from spasming and causing further pain.

Getting Enough Sleep

Getting enough rest is key to a full recovery. When you are asleep, your body regenerates damaged tissues, while performing routine maintenance and repairs. As you sleep, your body will produce hormones that contribute to growth, energy production, and a healthy immune system.

When you are experiencing back pain, the need for proper rest is critical to repair any damage caused by your car accident. You only prolong pain and discomfort when you miss valuable sleep by delaying the physical, emotional, and psychological repairs that need to be made before a full recovery.

Exercise, Energize and Release Endorphins

While your doctor may have prescribed rest, this doesn’t mean you should lie around all day in bed. You should avoid strenuous activity and lifting heavy objects, but you should be able to take short walks around your home or even neighborhood if your body can handle it. The release of endorphins helps energize you and alleviates the pain.

Endorphins are simply hormones that are made naturally within the body. Endorphins can be as strong as any medication that is prescribed. When endorphins are released, they can block pain signals and help get rid of the anxiety, stress, and depression that often accompany chronic back pain.

Keep Busy with Activities

Sometimes, the best way to recover from an injury is to focus on activities to keep you busy. While ongoing pain can wreak havoc, interrupt your sleep, and affect your mood, finding things to do that keep you in a positive state of mind can be extremely helpful.

It might be useful to focus on activities that make you feel good each day, such as walking the dog, calling a friend, or listening to music. Activities such as reading or watching a funny movie can lighten your mood and keep you in good spirits, which helps you focus less on the pain, even if it is severe.  Over time, doing simple things will help you heal and get stronger.

Although there may not be a one-size-fits-all pain remedy or medical treatment, the use of natural remedies can not only help eliminate pain, but make you feel more comfortable while you are on the road to recovery.

How to get a police report after an accident in Nashville, TN

How to get a police report after an accident in Nashville, TN

Not all motor vehicle accidents in Tennessee are serious crashes. Many collisions are simple “fender benders” that result in no injuries and only minor damage.

In such cases, one or more of the drivers involved may express a desire to not report the accident to authorities. The reasons for this might simply be a desire to avoid being stuck at a crash scene for an extended period of time, or a person might be fearful about the effects that even a minor accident could have on their automobile insurance rates.

In some cases, a driver is uncooperative and refuses to contact police because they do not have insurance, may not have a valid license, or have an active arrest warrant. If someone refuses to contact authorities after a crash, it is imperative that you insist on having the accident officially documented and reported.

No matter how civil another driver might seem after a crash, it is important to remember that the other driver could change their story. While a motorist may admit fault immediately after an accident and express willingness to personally take care of another driver for damage caused, the negligent motorist could very well change their mind, and it becomes more difficult to prove fault when no accident report is filed.

Even when an accident report is filed with a law enforcement agency in Tennessee, it can be complicated for a victim to obtain their crash report after the accident. The Law Offices of Luvell L. Glanton assist clients all over the greater Nashville area with various kinds of car crashes. Call (615) 244-4511 right now to schedule a free consultation.

Tennessee Car Accident Reporting Laws

Tennessee law requires that the operator of a motor vehicle involved in an accident in which any person is killed or injured, or in which property damage exceeding $400 is sustained, must report the matter in writing to the Commissioner of Safety and Homeland Security within 20 days of the accident. If the operator fails or is physically incapable of making the report, the vehicle owner must report the matter in writing to the commissioner upon learning of the accident.

Some people assume that their accidents are so minor that they do not have to file crash reports, but damage can exceed $400 rather easily. Additionally, there can be consequences to not reporting accidents in such cases.

If you do not report an accident to the commissioner of safety within 20 days, your license and vehicle registration may be suspended. The vehicle’s operator or owner are both entitled to administrative hearings held by the commissioner of safety, or the commissioner’s delegate. A person whose motor vehicle operating privileges have been suspended can restore their driving privileges by filing an accident report and paying a $25 restoration fee to the commissioner of safety.

Obtaining a Crash Report in Nashville, TN

The procedure for obtaining an accident report will depend on the law enforcement agency that the report was filed with.

If your crash report was filed with the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD), a person must download and complete an Open Records Request Form and email the completed form to MNPD’s Public Records Requests. A report returned via email that does not take more than one hour to complete is free of charge, but fees for all other reports are charged per page based on the Mayor’s Executive Order Number 35.

For a full accident, minor accident, computer-aided dispatch (CAD) report, or incident report, Mayor’s Executive Order charges are as follows:

  • All black and white copies are $0.15 per page
  • All color copies are $0.50 per page
  • Any request made in person, by mail, or email will have a labor fee charged after one hour is spent producing the requested material.

If a crash is investigated by the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP), any driver, owner, passenger, or their agent or legal representative can purchase a copy of the crash report for a fee of $4. The reports are available approximately seven days after the date of the crash at the THP District Office and can be purchased through the mail, or by visiting the THP District Office in person.

After 30 days have passed from the date of the crash, a report can also be purchased from the Department of Safety for a fee of $4. All crashes investigated by the THP and local police and sheriff departments should be available online within seven days of the crash, and the cost of an online collision report is $10.

When a crash is investigated by any law enforcement agency other than the THP, the report can be purchased from the Department of Safety for a fee of $4 after 60 days have passed from the date of the crash. In order to purchase an accident report, a person will need to provide the following information:

  • Date of crash
  • County in which crash occurred
  • Name(s) of driver(s) involved
  • A cashier’s check, money order, or personal/business check in the amount of $4.

If a person is involved in a motor vehicle accident in Tennessee and does not immediately file a crash report, they should complete an owner/driver report form and submit it to the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security within 20 days of the accident.

Contact a Nashville Car Accident Attorney Today

If you were involved in any kind of motor vehicle crash in Tennessee and need assistance filing or obtaining a crash report, it is in your best interest to retain legal counsel. Contact the Law Offices of Luvell L. Glanton as soon as possible.

Our firm can help you obtain the police report filed for your accident and make sure all the information contained therein is completely accurate. You can have our lawyer review your case and answer all of your legal questions when you call (615) 244-4511 or contact us online to receive a free consultation.