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What We Treat

Motor vehicle accident treatment in Temple.

The stiffness that didn’t show up until the day after the crash. The ache that spread further than you expected. It’s fixable, and it starts with a full movement evaluation, not a guess.

Whiplash Neck & back strain Delayed stiffness Schedule My Appointment

Sound Familiar?

Does this sound like you?

  • Waking up a full day after the accident and feeling worse, not better
  • Turning your whole body instead of your neck to check your blind spot
  • A tight band across your shoulders that wasn’t there before the crash
  • Low back stiffness that showed up alongside the neck pain, not instead of it
  • Headaches that start at the base of your skull by mid-afternoon
  • Bracing for a jolt every time you hit a pothole or a hard stop

Two or more? Keep reading.

Why It Happens

Post-crash pain is a symptom. Something causes it.

A car accident doesn’t give your body a fair warning. The sudden force jolts your neck, back, and shoulders faster than your muscles can brace, which is why the worst stiffness often shows up a day or two later, not right away. It’s usually some mix of a few things at once: soft tissue strain in the neck and upper back. Joints that got jarred out of their normal rhythm. And protective muscle guarding that tightens everything around the injury and doesn’t know when to let go.

Because impact rarely stays in one place, it takes a real, full movement evaluation, not a quick look at just the spot that hurts most, to find every area the crash actually affected. That’s the difference between chasing symptoms and treating what really happened to your body.

Two cars after a rear-end collision on a roadside, with a warning triangle and two drivers talking

The Honest Truth

Waiting on accident pain doesn’t make it wait on you.

If you keep waiting

  • Muscle guarding around the injury turns into long-term stiffness that’s harder to unwind
  • Areas that felt fine right after the crash start acting up as they compensate for the ones that hurt
  • The longer you wait, the harder it gets to connect your pain back to the accident that caused it

If you start this week

  • A full movement evaluation documents every area the crash affected, not just the loudest one
  • Hands-on relief starts before you leave the building
  • You get a plan with an endpoint: a real one, not an open tab of visits

Nobody regrets starting too early. Every week, someone in our clinic says they regret waiting.

How We Fix It

The same four phases. Built for after the crash.

Every plan has an endpoint. Here’s what the four phases look like after a motor vehicle accident.

Weeks 1–2

Pain

Calm the whiplash down.

Hands-on techniques ease acute neck and back pain and start easing muscle guarding from your very first visit.

Weeks 2–6

Prime

Get your neck and back moving again.

Targeted mobility work restores motion in every area the crash affected, so you can check your blind spot without turning your whole body.

Weeks 6–10

Perform

Rebuild the strength that guards you next time.

Progressive neck, shoulder, and core strengthening replaces protective guarding with real stability.

Weeks 10+

Prevent

Drive, work, and move without bracing for pain.

Real-world movements, driving, lifting, sitting at a desk, get tested before you’re cleared to go all-in: that’s the endpoint, not just another appointment.

Dr Gardener is amazing! Very professional and genuinely cares about your problems. I wouldn’t go anywhere else to seek professional advice or help.

Paul D. · Motor vehicle accident recovery

Week 1: couldn’t turn her head to check a blind spot without wincing

Week 9: back to her regular commute, headache-free

Motor vehicle accident 9 weeks

Related Conditions

Pain rarely stays in one place.

Compensation patterns often show up nearby. Here’s what else we treat.

1

Sports Injuries

Watching from the sideline while your team plays the season without you.

Learn More 2

Arthritis

Jars you can’t open, mornings your hands won’t cooperate until they’ve warmed up.

Learn More 3

Chronic Pain

Years of “just live with it” from people who never looked for the actual cause.

Learn More

Questions, Answered

What people ask before booking after an accident.

Often, yes, and it’s worth checking either way. Whiplash and accident-related strain frequently don’t show up until a day or two after the crash, once the adrenaline wears off. We start with a full movement evaluation to catch anything the accident affected, even before it becomes painful. It’s easier to address early than to trace back to the accident months later.

Yes, in most cases, and total rest can actually slow you down. Staying completely still lets protective muscle guarding settle in and get harder to release. A Doctor of Physical Therapy works with you one-on-one, every visit, to find the right movement for your specific injuries and progress it safely from there.

Most patients feel meaningful change within 4–6 visits. A full plan for accident-related pain runs through all four phases, Pain, Prime, Perform, and Prevent, typically over 8–12 weeks, depending on how many areas the crash affected. Either way, you get a plan with an endpoint: you’ll always know which phase you’re in and what’s left, not an open-ended string of appointments.

Book Your Visit

Ready when you are.

Request a time and a real person calls you back, usually within two business hours. No phone tree. No ‘someone will reach out.’ Just a plan.

  • Hours
    Mon 10 AM–12 PM, 1–7 PM
    Tue 8 AM–12 PM, 1–7 PM
    Wed 8 AM–12 PM, 4–7 PM
    Thu 8 AM–12 PM, 1–7 PM
    Fri, Sat, Sun: Closed
  • 512-763-0526 Prefer to talk now? Call us.
  • Same-week appointments available

5.0 · 195+ Google reviews

Typical response: under 2 business hours

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Care this good, this close.

Gardner Sports Physical Therapy

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