Weeks 1–2
Pain
Calm the inflammation down.
Hands-on techniques ease acute inflammation and muscle guarding from the crash, starting your very first visit.
What We Treat
Motor vehicle accident injury treatment in Cupertino.
You walked away from the wreck feeling fine. Then two days later you could barely turn your neck. It’s fixable, and it starts with a cause-first evaluation, not a guess.
Sound Familiar?
Does this sound like you?
- You told the officer “I’m fine” at the scene, because that’s what you say when everyone else is checking on you first
- Waking up two mornings after the accident and barely able to turn your neck to check your blind spot
- A dull headache that started the same day as the fender bender and hasn’t fully let go since
- Flinching every time a car brakes hard in front of you now
- Shoulder and jaw tightness on the side the seatbelt caught you
- Putting off the doctor’s visit because the claim paperwork already feels like a second job
Two or more? Keep reading.
Why It Happens
The crash lasted a second. The strain it left doesn’t.
Even a low-speed collision snaps your neck and spine through motion they were never braced for. That force doesn’t just disappear once the cars stop. It’s usually some mix of a few things: soft tissue in the neck and back that got overstretched in an instant, joints that took the brunt of the jolt, inflammation that builds quietly over the next 24 to 72 hours, and protective muscle guarding that leaves you stiffer than you were the day it happened.
That delay is exactly why so many people feel “fine” at the scene and rough two days later. It takes a real, cause-first evaluation to sort out what’s actually injured versus what’s just sore. We also work directly with your insurance and any other providers involved, so documenting the injury and getting you better happen at the same time.
The Honest Truth
Waiting on an accident injury doesn’t make it wait on you.
If you keep waiting
- Untreated whiplash settles into a chronic neck and shoulder pattern
- Your claim gets harder to support without documented, consistent care
- You avoid turning your head, which weakens the exact muscles supposed to support your neck
If you start this week
- You know exactly what’s injured and what’s just sore by the end of visit one
- Hands-on relief starts before you leave the building, and your documentation starts too
- 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 accident recovery.
Every plan has an endpoint. Here’s what the four phases look like after a motor vehicle accident.
Weeks 2–6
Prime
Get your neck and back moving again.
Targeted mobility work restores motion in the neck and spinal segments that tightened up to protect the injury.
Weeks 6–10
Perform
Make it strong enough to trust.
Progressive strengthening rebuilds the neck, shoulder, and core stability the impact took from you.
Weeks 10+
Prevent
Get back behind the wheel with confidence.
Driving posture, checking your blind spot, and daily mechanics get tested under real conditions before you’re cleared to go all-in: that’s the endpoint, not just another appointment.
Recovering from a motor vehicle accident means coordinating your care, not just treating the pain. I work directly with your medical team so your rehab plan fits your whole recovery.
Dr. Stacy Alvares · Motor Vehicle Accident
Questions, Answered
What people ask before booking after an accident.
Yes, and sooner than you’d think. Adrenaline masks a lot in the first 24 to 72 hours, which is exactly why whiplash and soft tissue injuries so often show up two or three days later. A cause-first evaluation now catches what adrenaline is hiding, gets ahead of stiffness before it sets in, and creates the documentation you may need later. You don’t have to wait until it hurts to get checked.
Neither, when it’s done right. We work directly with your insurance, your attorney if you have one, and any other providers involved, so nothing falls through the cracks. And the movement itself is dosed carefully by a Doctor of Physical Therapy, every visit, so you’re never pushed past what your body is ready for. Total rest tends to make things stiffer, not better.
Most patients feel meaningful change within 4–6 visits. A full recovery plan runs through all four phases, Pain, Prime, Perform, and Prevent, typically over 6–10 weeks, depending on the severity of the accident. We handle the paperwork and communicate directly with your insurance, so you get a plan with an endpoint, not an open-ended string of appointments and confusion about coverage.
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.
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Hours
Mon - Fri: 8:00am - 5:00pm
Sat - Sun: Closed - (408) 873-8188 Prefer to talk now? Call us.
- Same-week appointments available
4.8 · 115+ Google reviews
Typical response: under 2 business hours
Step 1 of 5
Request sent.
That’s the hard part done. We’ll call during business hours to lock in your time. Most people are on the schedule same week.
Visit Us
Care this good, this close.
Cupertino Physical Therapy
- 1054 S De Anza Blvd, #120, San Jose, CA 95129 (opens in a new tab)
- (408) 873-8188
- Fax: (408) 873-8138
- cpt95129@gmail.com
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Mon - Fri: 8:00am - 5:00pm
Sat - Sun: Closed