Motor Vehicle Accident Massage in Portland, OR

Your massage may already be covered

If you have been in a car accident in Portland and are dealing with neck pain, whiplash, muscle guarding, or soft tissue injury that is not resolving on its own, massage therapy may be covered as part of your PIP or auto insurance recovery benefits.

You may not need to pay out of pocket. In Oregon, PIP (Personal Injury Protection) coverage is required on every auto policy and typically includes massage therapy as part of recovery. That means the session, documentation, and care can be covered entirely by your insurance, so your focus stays on healing.

15+ years working with accident recovery

I am Christina Rivlin, LMT. I have been working with motor vehicle accident clients for over 15 years at Alacrity Massage & Wellness in NW Portland.

In that time, I have come to understand the specific patterns that follow collision injuries, the way the body braces against impact and holds that tension long after the event itself, the compensation patterns that develop when one area is guarded and the rest of the body adjusts around it, the way a nervous system that has been through a shock often needs careful, gradual work before deeper release is possible. Each of those patterns responds to a different combination of techniques.

Recovery is collaborative. You know your body, and what changed after the accident, what hurts now that did not hurt before, where you are bracing, and what feels different. I bring 15 years of experience with collision injuries and the clinical techniques to address them. Together, we figure out the path forward.

Treatment:

Each person’s treatment plan will be unique to their particular circumstances. As I have been working with people recovering from accidents, I have noticed a pattern that emerges with nearly everyone, regardless of the severity of the injuries, although each phase may be longer or shorter from person to person.

At some point, you will notice improvement. For some people, this happens after just a few weeks of treatment, for others it may take longer, but you will get to a point where you really are feeling much better. You’ll feel relief from the pain you've been experiencing. You will have a greater range of movement. This improvement will encourage you, and you will feel very optimistic and maybe have more energy.

You may think, well, that was great. I feel much better now. I am better now. I can resume my life now.

And here is where I caution you… Give yourself more time to rest and recover. What often happens is that people jump right back into those old habits and busy (maybe too busy) routines. They push themselves too much too soon and then…

Suddenly, they feel much worse!

Then comes frustration, discouragement, maybe even a touch of hopelessness. But do not despair. This is normal. Allow yourself more rest. Continue with your treatments and any self-care exercises you have been doing. Be gentle with yourself and allow yourself to be where you are.

Because what I have noticed is that usually not too long after you seem to hit that wall… it comes down. You begin to feel better, but different than last time… really better, maybe even better than you felt before the accident.