Most Auto Accident Injuries: 100% Covered, $0 Out-of-Pocket Cost*
Auto Accident Chiropractor in Kansas City Northland
Accident Injury Care
Expert Care for Auto Accident Injuries
Car accidents are no fun. Let’s just get that out of the way. Unfortunately, they are also a common part of life in a busy metro area. You see them everyday driving along I-35, MO-152 or I-29. After a crash, many people are left dealing with pain, vehicle repairs, insurance calls, missed work, and a lot of uncertainty about what they should do next.
Dr. Blake Overly has treated hundreds of patients injured in motor vehicle collisions throughout the Kansas City metro. With more than a decade of experience handling these cases, he understands the injuries commonly caused by crashes—as well as the imaging, referrals, documentation, and coordination of care that may be needed along the way.
Over the years, Dr. Overly has continued to expand his clinical training and medicolegal knowledge so he can help patients navigate both their injuries and the unfamiliar process that often follows a collision. In 2018, he became certified in Whiplash and Brain Injury Traumatology through the Spine Research Institute of San Diego. Dr. Overly is also a member of the Ichthus Injury Network, a national network of chiropractors, orthopedic physicians, neurologists, pain specialists, and other providers focused on improving care, communication, and documentation in personal injury cases.
Northland Spine and Rehabilitation has cared for injured patients from Kansas City, Liberty, Gladstone, Parkville, Kearney, and communities throughout the Northland since 2011. Our goal is to be the place you can turn when you have been involved in a motor vehicle collision and are not sure what to do next.
We can help evaluate your injuries, determine whether imaging or referral to another specialist may be appropriate, and coordinate care when additional treatment is needed. Most importantly, we want to help you recover as safely and efficiently as possible so you can get back to work, family, exercise, and everyday life.
Questions are completely normal after an accident. You can learn more by scrolling further down on this page or by visiting our Auto Accident FAQs, reading about what to do after an accident, or reviewing our information about working with attorneys and liens.
Even when you are unsure whether you need treatment, you are welcome to contact our office and ask questions. We want to be a helpful resource—whether you ultimately choose to come in for care or not.
Common Questions After a Motor Vehicle Collision
Every collision and injury is different, but these are some of the questions we hear most often from patients involved in auto accidents.
What Injuries Are Common After a Car Accident?
The most common injuries we see after car accidents are soft tissue injuries. If you have a fracture, significant bleeding, or another injury that requires emergency care, the Emergency Department is the appropriate place to start. But many people involved in collisions are left with injuries that are painful and disruptive without necessarily requiring emergency treatment.
Common complaints we see include neck pain, headaches, lower back pain, swelling, stiffness, and other muscle or joint pain. Many patients have more than one complaint at the same time, and symptoms can vary considerably depending on the type of collision and the individual involved.
Based on your symptoms and examination findings, we then determine whether additional imaging or referral to another specialist is appropriate. Our goal is to understand the full extent of the injury and determine whether it is something we can treat in our office or whether another type of provider should be involved in your care.
Why Can Symptoms Appear Hours or Days After a Crash?
While some people experience pain immediately after a crash, it is also common for symptoms to become more noticeable later. Car accidents can be stressful and traumatic events, and in the immediate aftermath your body may be focused more on responding to the situation than on recognizing every ache or injury.
Many people have experienced something similar after another stressful event or physical activity—you may initially feel fine, only to notice soreness, stiffness, headaches, or other symptoms once things settle down. The stress response surrounding a collision may temporarily change how pain is perceived, which can contribute to symptoms being less noticeable right away.
Swelling and inflammation can also play a role. More obvious injuries, such as a fracture or significant laceration, often cause immediate symptoms and may be apparent at the scene. Soft tissue injuries, however, can be less obvious initially. As injured muscles, ligaments, and other tissues begin to react to the trauma, swelling, stiffness, soreness, and pain may become more noticeable over the following hours or days.
It is common for someone to walk away from an accident feeling relieved that no one appears to be seriously injured, only to notice increasing soreness later that evening, the next morning, or over the days that follow. That is one reason it is important to pay attention to new, persistent, or worsening symptoms after a motor vehicle collision, even if you felt relatively normal immediately afterward.
When Should Someone Be Evaluated After a Car Accident?
The clearest answer is that you should be evaluated immediately after an auto accident if you are experiencing significant pain or signs of a potentially serious injury. Head injuries, open wounds, severe pain, loss of consciousness, weakness, numbness, or other concerning symptoms may require emergency evaluation at a hospital.
When the initial pain is mild—or when symptoms do not appear until later—it is still important to be evaluated sooner rather than later. You may not need an emergency room visit, but seeing a qualified healthcare provider can help identify the nature and extent of the injury and determine what type of treatment, imaging, or referral may be appropriate.
The body begins the healing process on its own after an injury, but different tissues heal in different ways. A broken bone, for example, is often immobilized so the injured area is protected while new bone forms. Soft tissue injuries can be more complicated. Some tissues have a strong blood supply and heal relatively well, while others, including certain tendons and ligaments, receive less blood flow and may take longer to recover.
Soft tissue injuries also cannot always be completely rested or immobilized. With neck and upper-back sprain/strain injuries, such as those commonly associated with whiplash, you still have to move through normal daily activities while the injured tissues are healing. Even when you naturally guard or favor the painful area, everyday movement can continue to place stress on those tissues.
An early evaluation can help determine what was injured, whether additional testing is needed, and what activities or treatment may be appropriate during recovery.
What Does an Auto Accident Evaluation at Northland Spine Actually Involve?
An initial evaluation after an auto accident begins with a thorough health history, questions about the crash, an examination of the areas where you are having symptoms, and a discussion about whether any imaging may be helpful for additional diagnostic clarity.
We will start by asking for basic details about the accident. We are not accident reconstructionists or experts in crash biomechanics, but understanding how the collision occurred can help provide context for your complaints and alert us to injuries that are commonly seen in similar situations.
We will also review your health history, including any previous injuries, surgeries, or conditions that could be relevant to what you are experiencing now.
The examination will usually include hands-on evaluation of the areas involved. We may check for tenderness, assess your ranges of motion, identify movements that increase your symptoms, and perform appropriate orthopedic or neurological testing based on your complaints.
We will then discuss whether imaging is indicated. Our office has digital X-ray available in-house, and when additional evaluation of soft tissues, discs, nerves, or other structures is needed, we may recommend advanced imaging such as MRI or, in certain situations, CT.
Most importantly, this is also your opportunity to ask questions. Dr. Overly is happy to discuss your injuries, what the examination findings mean, how insurance may work after an accident, and whether chiropractic care appears appropriate for your situation. There are no bad or silly questions—if something is unclear or concerning to you, this is the time to ask.
How Do You Decide Whether I Need an X-Rays, an MRI or a Specialist Referral?
Chiropractic care can be helpful for many of the injuries seen after auto accidents, but it is not the appropriate treatment for every condition. Part of our job during the initial evaluation is determining whether your complaints are something we can reasonably manage in our office or whether additional imaging or referral to another healthcare provider is appropriate.
If you have not already been evaluated in the emergency room or had imaging performed, your history and physical examination usually provide the information we need to decide whether imaging is recommended and, if so, which type is most appropriate.
X-rays are convenient because we have digital X-ray available in our office. They are quick, relatively cost-effective, and especially useful for evaluating the bones and helping identify problems such as fractures, dislocations, or other structural abnormalities.
MRI is typically performed at an outside imaging center and provides much more detailed information about many of the soft tissues that cannot be seen well on a standard X-ray. Depending on your symptoms and examination findings, MRI may be helpful when evaluating conditions such as disc herniations, nerve compression, or injuries involving muscles, ligaments, tendons, and other soft tissues.
Some injuries are better evaluated or treated by another type of healthcare provider. Certain symptoms may warrant referral to a neurologist or concussion specialist, while an extremity injury may require evaluation by an orthopedic specialist. Other situations may call for pain management or additional diagnostic testing.
While many auto accident injuries can be managed conservatively with chiropractic care, our goal is not simply to keep every patient in our office. Our priority is to identify the nature of your injury and help get you to the appropriate provider when additional care is indicated.