“Dr. Bergin at Chiromed Wellness Centers is the best chiropractor in town. I no longer have to take pain meds. If you still have pain, you’re not seeing to best chiropractor.”
Condition
Car Accident Injuries treatment
in Lakeland and The Villages, FL
Get examined, get the findings written down, and get treated. Crash injuries are often quiet on day one and loud on day four.
- 22 years in practice
- Same lineup at both offices
- $47 new patient exam
- 22 years in practice
- $47 new-patient exam
Medically reviewed by Dr. Justin Bergin, DC Updated September 14, 2026
Quick summary
After a collision, the injuries that matter most are often the ones that do not hurt yet. Whiplash and soft tissue trauma commonly surface days later. Dr. Justin Bergin examines you properly, documents what he finds, and treats the neck, mid back and low back without surgery or medication at the Lakeland and Lady Lake offices. Getting examined early matters for your recovery and for your records.
Understanding car accident injuries
A car accident injury is trauma to muscle, ligament, disc, joint or nerve caused by the rapid acceleration and deceleration of a collision. Whiplash is the common neck version of it. Because the tissue involved swells and stiffens over days, symptoms frequently appear well after the crash.
In a rear impact, your torso is pushed forward by the seat while your head lags behind, then whips the other way. Neck ligaments are stretched past their normal range in a fraction of a second, small joints at the back of the spine are compressed, and discs take a shearing load. None of that requires a dramatic crash or a damaged bumper. Delayed onset is the rule: stiffness first, then headaches from the base of the skull, then symptoms travelling into an arm or leg if a nerve has been irritated. This is also why being cleared at an emergency department is not the same as being examined for a musculoskeletal injury. That visit rules out the dangerous things. It is not designed to find a strained ligament.
The ambulance did not come. You said you were fine, exchanged information and drove home. Three days later you cannot turn your head to reverse out of a parking space, your shoulders are burning by lunchtime and your sleep is broken. This is the normal course of a crash injury, not an unlucky complication. The forces in even a low speed collision are absorbed by tissue that has no way to warn you in the moment, because adrenaline hides it well. What you do in the first week shapes the next six months. Dr. Justin Bergin has spent 22 years examining people after collisions, and the work is the same at both offices: find out exactly what was injured, write it down properly, and start treating it.
Independent background: About Transportation Safety, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Symptoms
Most people recognise their own version somewhere in this list. Each one maps to a specific finding the examination checks for.
- Neck stiffness that started days later
- Headaches from the base of the skull
- Pain between the shoulder blades
- Reduced ability to turn the head
- Tingling or numbness in an arm
- Low back pain with sitting or driving
- Dizziness or a foggy feeling
- Jaw soreness or clicking
- Broken sleep and irritability
Common causes
Rear impact and the whiplash mechanism
The head lags behind the torso and then snaps forward. Neck ligaments and the small joints at the back of the spine take the load. It does not require high speed to produce real injury.
Side impact and rotational force
A hit from the side loads the spine sideways and rotates it at once. Rib, shoulder and mid back symptoms follow, and the asymmetric pattern is easy to misread as a simple strain.
Bracing at the moment of impact
Gripping the wheel and locking the arms transmits force through the wrists, elbows and shoulders into the neck. People who saw it coming are often more symptomatic than people who did not.
Seat belt and airbag loading
Restraints do their job and still concentrate force across the collarbone, ribs, sternum and pelvis. Chest wall and shoulder soreness after a crash is frequently belt related and deserves examining.
How we treat car accident injuries in Lakeland and The Villages
Care starts with a full examination and written findings. Treatment then restores movement to the joints that locked up, settles the injured soft tissue, and unloads the disc where the crash produced radiating symptoms. Nothing is injected, nothing is prescribed and no surgery is involved.
Chiropractic examination and adjustment
The joints of the neck and mid back commonly lock down after a collision as a protective response, and they stay that way long after the acute phase. Adjustment restores that movement. This part of care is billed to insurance and our team verifies benefits before your first visit.
Spinal decompression where a disc is involved
Where the examination points to disc involvement, with pain travelling into an arm or a leg, computer-controlled decompression is used to reduce the load on the affected level. It is comfortable, you stay clothed, and it is delivered on a table rather than through any procedure.
Soft tissue treatment for the injured muscle and ligament
Strained tissue lays down disorganised repair tissue if it is left alone, which is where months of lingering neck and shoulder tightness comes from. Hands on and instrument assisted work addresses that directly while the area is still responsive.
What recovery usually looks like
Examination and documentation As soon as possible after the crash
A full history of the collision, orthopaedic and neurological testing, range of motion measurement and imaging where indicated. The findings are recorded properly, which matters for your care and for any records requested later.
Settling the injury, then repairing the tissue Through the plan
First the protective spasm comes down and movement returns to the joints that shut down. Then injured soft tissue is treated while it is still remodelling, which usually decides the difference between a full recovery and a stiff neck for a year.
Return to normal and re-examination Toward the end of care
You are re-examined against the findings recorded at the start, not against how you say you feel on the day. Where something has not resolved, we refer rather than extend a plan.
When to seek care sooner
What to try at home first, in the days after a collision: keep gently moving your neck within comfort rather than holding it rigid, use ice for the first day or two and heat after that, sleep with support under the neck, and avoid long drives while your range of motion is limited. Book an examination even if you feel manageable, because delayed onset is normal. Go to an emergency department if you lost consciousness, if you have severe or worsening headache, repeated vomiting, confusion or visual changes, if weakness or numbness is getting worse, if you have chest pain, or if there is any change in bowel or bladder control.
Red-flag findings belong with a physician, promptly, and not with conservative care alone.
Cost, insurance and financing
What care costs after a collision depends on what was injured and how much of the spine is involved.
The one published price
Consultation, Exam, X-Rays (If Needed) & Report of Findings: Only $47
What moves the cost
- How many spinal regions were injured
- Whether nerve symptoms are present
- Whether imaging is required before care begins
What a course includes
- The consultation, examination and written report of findings
- Documentation of examination findings in your clinical record
- Re-examination measured against your starting findings
Payment: Chiropractic care bills insurance and our team verifies your benefits before your first visit. Florida is a no-fault state and personal injury protection generally forms part of an auto policy, but what is covered, and how soon you must be seen for it to apply, depends on your policy and on current state rules. Our front desk will help you confirm it with your own insurer. We document your care. We do not handle claims, and nothing here is a promise about what any insurer will pay. New patients start with a consultation, exam, x-rays if needed and report of findings for only $47.
Who you would be seeing
Dr. Justin Bergin, DC has been in practice for 22 years and has examined a great many people in the weeks after a collision. The difference he cares about is between a record that says the patient reported neck pain and a record that says which segments were restricted, by how much, with which orthopaedic findings positive. The first is a note. The second is an examination. Medically reviewed by Dr. Justin Bergin, DC.
Dr. Justin Bergin, DC, 22 years in practice, performs the examination personally and explains the findings before any program starts. Lakeland: 6595 Florida Ave S, Suite 13, Lakeland. The Villages market office: 929 US-441 #404, Lady Lake. Both offices run the same program.
Getting to us
The Lakeland office at 6595 Florida Ave S, Suite 13 sits in South Lakeland close to the S. Florida Avenue and Polk Parkway corridors, which is where a large share of Polk County collisions happen. Patients come in from Highland City, Christina, Scott Lake, Dixieland and the Southgate area, often the same week as the crash. The Lady Lake office at 929 US-441 #404 sits on the north US-441 run just above CR 466, an intersection-heavy stretch familiar to anyone driving between The Villages, Summerfield, Wildwood and Leesburg.
Browse every condition on the conditions we treat index.
Options compared, honestly
This is treated very differently depending on who you walk in to see. Here is the full set, including the options this practice does not provide.
| Criteria | Our approachOffered at ChiroMed? | Option | What it is | Typically considered when | Invasive? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chiropractic care after a crash | Yes | Examination, documented findings and manual restoration of joint movement | Neck, mid back or low back symptoms follow a collision | No | |
| Spinal decompression | Yes | Computer controlled traction that reduces load on a spinal level | Symptoms travel into an arm or leg and point to a disc | No | |
| Soft tissue therapy | Yes | Manual and instrument assisted treatment of strained tissue | Muscle and ligament injury is limiting movement | No | |
| Muscle relaxants and pain medication | Not performed here. Appropriate when a physician judges short term medication necessary in the acute phase. | Prescribed medication to reduce spasm and pain | Acute pain is preventing sleep or basic movement | No | |
| Spinal surgery | Not performed here. Appropriate when imaging confirms a structural injury that conservative care cannot address. | An operation to stabilise or decompress an injured spinal segment | There is a fracture, instability or progressive neurological loss | Yes |
Most crash injuries are soft tissue and joint injuries that do well with conservative care. A minority are not, and the examination exists to tell those two groups apart before anyone is put on a plan.
What to expect
From evaluation to a plan for your car accident injuries
A course, not a single visit. The examination decides the length and the cost, and both are written down first.
-
01Evaluation
Orthopedic and neurological testing, with imaging on site where it changes the plan.
-
02Findings, in plain language
What the examination actually found, and honestly whether this is a case conservative care can help at all.
-
03A written program
Which disciplines, how many visits, over what period, and what it costs. Decided before anything begins.
-
04Reassessment as it runs
Function is re-measured through the course. If the response says the plan should change, it changes.
-
Find out what is actually driving it before choosing a program.
“I have had sich a great experience seeing Dr. Bergin. When other offices have told me I just had muscle damage or the only thing they could do for me was give shots, he said he had others ways to manage my pain and numbness, along with improving mobility. And he was right! I feel so much better!”
“I have had pain in my right upper back quadrant by my shoulder blade for at least a year now and the doctors have been unsuccessful in making the pain go away. I came to Dr. Bergin looking for some help. Within 3 to 4 weeks. My pain in that area is completely gone.”
“Dr. Bergin is phenomenal. Chronic lower back issues led a different doctor to mention back surgery to me. That was not an option I wanted to entertain. After a consult with Dr. B, he was confident that he could help resolve my back issues. I’ve been seeing him weekly to resolve the issue, and I am so pleased with the results so far! More mobility, less pain, and a great customer experience.”
“I bless the day that Dr. Bergin started working on me. I have had long standing pain for so long. After just a few visits my pain left and I feel so good. He is very patient oriented and caring. I regard him highly.”
“Dr. Bergin was instrumental in relieving my back pain which I had for many years. The techniques he used on relieving my back pain were impressive. I been going to chiropractors for years and Dr. Bergin is the best.”
Get in touch
Schedule your car accident injuries evaluation
Tell us what you are feeling and which office is closer. A member of the ChiroMed team follows up within one business day.
- 1
Send the form
Two minutes. Tell us what hurts and which office is closer.
- 2
We call you back
A real person, within one business day, to find a time that works.
- 3
Exam and answers
History, orthopedic and neurological testing, imaging on site when it changes the plan.
- $47 consultation, exam, X-rays if needed and report of findings
- Payment plans available on the self-pay programs
- 4.8 out of 5 from 225 Google reviews
- Choose Lakeland or The Villages on the form
Car Accident Injuries questions
Tap a message for the honest answer. Call Lakeland (863) 940-3444
Should I see someone if I feel fine after a car accident?
Yes. Crash injuries commonly announce themselves two to four days later, once the adrenaline has gone and the injured tissue has stiffened. An examination in the first week gives you a proper baseline, and it is far easier to treat a fresh soft tissue injury than a six-month-old one.
the clinic teamIs being cleared at the emergency room the same as being examined?
No, and this catches a lot of people out. An emergency visit is designed to rule out fractures, bleeding and life-threatening injury, and it does that well. It is not designed to assess ligament injury, joint restriction or the mechanics of a strained neck, which is a different examination entirely.
the clinic teamWill my auto insurance cover chiropractic care after a crash?
Often, through personal injury protection, but the details depend on your policy and on current Florida rules, including how soon you need to be seen. Our front desk will explain what usually applies and help you verify it with your insurer. We document your care. We do not handle the claim itself.
the clinic teamMy attorney has asked for records. Can you provide them?
Your clinical records are yours, and we release them on your written authorisation like any other healthcare provider. What we produce is an examination record: findings, measurements, the plan and your response to it. We do not advise on claims and we do not work for anyone but you.
the clinic teamCan a chiropractor fix a pinched nerve from a crash?
Where a nerve is irritated by joint restriction, muscle guarding or disc pressure, conservative care often relieves it, and decompression is added when the disc is the driver. Where there is progressive weakness or a confirmed structural lesion, that is a surgical conversation and you will be referred.
the clinic teamHow long after an accident is it too late to start treatment?
It is rarely too late to benefit from treatment, but it can get harder, because untreated tissue heals in whatever shape it was left in. There are also policy and state time limits that affect coverage, which is a separate question from the clinical one and worth confirming with your insurer quickly.
the clinic teamSame-week appointments
Start with an examination, not a package.
Find out what is actually driving it before choosing a program.
- 4.8 out of 5 on Google
- $47 consultation, exam and report
- 22 years in practice
Consultation, Exam, X-Rays (If Needed) & Report of Findings: Only $47