When I was hit by a drunk driver, the last thing I wanted to do was mess with insurance. The other boy’s insurance company was willing to pay for massage therapy. But I didn’t have time. And as a result, he was not fully protected.
Massage therapy is one of the most effective healing tools available. Calms the muscles and mind after a traumatic incident. Increases blood flow to muscles, which increases healing. A great masseur will ask you about the accident and learn which muscles were strained and damaged during the accident. As a result, your body will heal. Massage therapy is the science of muscle healing. It is the only industry that focuses exclusively on curing muscle tension and pain. Seek a massage therapist immediately if you are in a car accident to prevent those muscles from becoming strained due to whiplash or injury.
I have outlined the steps outlining how to get massage therapy in the event of a car accident (or any accident) with the other person’s insurance company paying it. These steps are the first 4 steps that you should take right away. Within 24 hours of the accident, take these steps to protect yourself. You must act quickly or you may lose your attention due to insurance company policies. To make sure you are okay, follow these 4 steps below.
1. VISIT a doctor or chiropractor for a doctor’s note
You need a doctor’s recommendation for a massage. It is a medical recommendation, like any other activity or medical prescription. Schedule a single doctor visit and ask your doctor to recommend massage therapy as a treatment. If you are injured on the weekend, visit a 24-hour clinic. Any doctor can prescribe massage therapy if requested. But you must ask for it.
2. DEAL IMMEDIATELY
Insurance companies have a policy called “gap in care.” It means that if you don’t receive your treatments consistently and immediately after the accident, then you are not really hurt. If you are going to have massage therapy to remedy the pain of the accident, start right away. And don’t stop getting regular treatments until you feel better. Changes to your treatment plan or providers are fine, but DO NOT stop receiving some type of treatment, or insurance companies will say you have a “gap in care.” And they will not accept your claim.
3. BEWARE of delayed pain
Whiplash can appear several weeks after the accident. What happens is that the body goes into hyperprotection mode, as a security measure. Pour adrenaline and other chemicals into your body for several weeks to protect yourself from pain (so you can escape the dangerous land of other cave people, you know, with deadly mountain lions and other creatures). Then your body begins to repair itself weeks later. That repair period is when the pain really begins.
Often times, you won’t seek immediate treatment because you feel good, then you start to feel really bad weeks later. Continue your massage therapy treatments for at least a month to make sure you avoid having a serious whiplash affect your productivity. Insurance companies get it too. So continue the treatment for at least a month. And more if you really feel pain.
4. ASK the insurance company questions
Some insurance companies pay as you go. Other insurance companies want to pay the claim at the end of the treatment. Ask them lots of questions about their process. The adjuster is simply following a set of rules. If you can learn the rules, you can get the most out of the claim (and save yourself a lot of headaches). Work within the system, not against it. Some interesting questions include: “How does the claim process work?” “Can I receive checks while I submit the receipts, or do you pay all at once towards the end?”
Regardless of what happened, everyone involved wants you to get better quickly. So act fast. And start a constant treatment and continue with it until you are better. Good luck and feel better!
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