Auto Injury

Auto accidents can cause a wide range of injuries that may not present symptoms immediately. Even a low-speed collision can produce forces strong enough to damage spinal structures, soft tissues, and nerves. Our examination looks at the spine, soft tissues, and nervous system so that care can begin while an injury is still fresh, and we keep thorough records of your examination and treatment as part of your chart.

If you have been in a collision anywhere around North Austin, the days afterward are usually the confusing part. You walked away, the adrenaline wore off, and now your neck is stiff, your shoulders ache, and you are not sure whether it is worth being seen. That uncertainty is the most common reason people wait, and waiting is the part we would gently push back on.

Our office sits on Wells Branch Parkway in North Austin, and the Chicoine family has been caring for people in this part of town since 1989. Dr. Shelly Hogan, D.C. and Dr. Nicole Edwards, D.C. see patients from Wells Branch, Pflugerville, and the surrounding North Austin neighborhoods, and crash-related neck and back complaints are among the most common reasons people come through the door.

Here is why the timing matters. Soft tissue does not announce itself the way a broken bone does. The forces in even a modest rear-end collision can strain the muscles and ligaments that hold the neck and spine in place, and it is very common for the stiffness and headaches to show up a day or two later, sometimes longer. By then people have often decided they are fine. Meanwhile the body starts working around the sore area, and that compensation pattern is usually what makes the eventual recovery longer than it needed to be.

A first visit is mostly listening and looking. We ask what happened, where it hurts, what you have not been able to do since, and then we examine how your neck, back, and shoulders actually move. If what we find is outside what chiropractic care should handle, we will say so and point you toward the right kind of doctor. If it is something we can help with, we will explain what we are seeing in plain language and what a course of care would look like before you commit to anything.