Auto
Accident
Massage
and
Workplace
Injury
Manual therapy
for automobile
accidents and
workplace injury
If you have been in a car crash,
there is trauma in your body.
Trauma is caused by energy in the
accident being deposited and
dissipated within your body’s
tissues. Consider the equation
“Force = Mass x Acceleration.” In
layman’s terms, this means that
impacts your body experiences in
an accident are related to the
weight of objects, multiplied by how
fast objects change speed or
decelerate. In the case of
automobiles we are talking about a
ton of steel decelerating from 50
MPH or more. That can be a lot of
force and resulting energy and
trauma delivered to your body!
Insurance coverage for auto
accident and workplace injuries
When we talk about treatment for automobile accidents and
workplace injury, the issue of insurance will be something you’re
considering.
Auto insurance is required to pay for massage and manual therapy
by NM State mandate. Workman’s compensation fund will pay for
treatments for injuries sustained while working, if you have a
referral from an MD and prior authorization from the state agency.
With worker’s compensation, it is fairly straightforward. I do the
billing, and the state pays me directly.
Auto insurance is not so simple. There are two primary ways that I
help address payment for treatments on injuries sustained during
an auto accident.
1) Med-Pay:
•
I bill your insurance company directly and they seek
repayment from the at-fault party’s insurance
company. This works quite well, and is most common.
2) Self-Pay:
•
You pay me directly and submit your billing to the
insurance company after treatment has been
completed. I have a small fee of $10.00 per session for
billing and recordkeeping when we use this method.
You are then reimbursed by your insurance or after
legal proceedings.
Standard Medical Coverage
Check with your provider!! Over
the years Massage has fallen in and out
of favor with health insurance
companies. Perhaps your provider will
work with you to keep your costs
lower. It is always a good idea to check
first.
It is likely that your health
insurance plan will not cover these
services. Most often, they say they
cover massage and manual therapy,
but only if it is performed by an MD.
However, there are steps we can
take to make your money spent have
more value.
•
Massage is listed as an unpaid
medical expense, so, much like
your co-pays, any payments
should be included in your taxes
at years-end.
•
If you have a pre-paid medical
savings plan, you can use that to
pay for these services.
•
Often your health plan will allow
for the services to go towards
your deductible, which can help
with medical costs later in the
year.
Your car may protect you from some of that energy, which is
dissipated in folding the metal, crushing plastic, etc. However,
enough energy is transferred into your body through impacts with
steering wheels, seatbelts, and airbags to do significant damage.
Some of that energy causes trauma to your body. This may include
organs moving out of position or sticking together, muscles and
ligaments tearing, muscles shortening, and bones to becoming
hard and inflexible.
Workplace injuries are often caused by similar trauma of impact
with objects, carrying heavy objects, as well as slips, trips, and falls,
as well as repetitive motion injuries. The body experiences trauma
from such events that needs to be addressed.
I use an osteopathic approach to trauma, meaning that all injuries
will limit the body from moving. This is a defense mechanism and
is in place to prevent further injury. The Osteopathic approach is
designed release these to lesions and adhesions by gently “waking
up the tissues” effectively removing trauma from the body, and
allowing healing to occur.
© 2022, Jim Stevens Manual Therapy
Master Manual
Therapist & Physical
Trauma Specialist
Relieving pain and
injury since 1994