Injury
Whiplash
Have you experienced whiplash? Rear-end collisions are the most common kind of car accident that happens. Although they usually happen due to a combination of sudden braking, poor driving, or even unclear road signs and directions, they can vary wildly in severity.
Quite often, many patients that have been involved in some kind of rear-end collision don’t even realize they have received injuries until weeks or even months post-impact. Their medical doctors do not always acknowledge injuries that may occur at lower speeds, despite a great deal of research today that says differently. If you believe that you have been injured in an accident, then you need to figure out how serious the injuries may be.
To successfully treat a whiplash injury, it’s extremely important to work with a medical professional that understands the problem and how to treat it. If you have been injured recently, you’ll need to get your spine checked as soon as possible. The sooner that you get checked up and take the appropriate steps to care for injuries, the less chance you have of developing long-term problems.
All drivers should take action to reduce the risk of whiplash. Injuries tend to be more significant when your headrest is positioned too low. If you don’t adjust it appropriately it can act as an acceleration point when you are hit from behind. A 5 mph impact can result in your head whipping back at a much higher rate of speed causing greater injury.
If you have any questions or would like to learn more about chiropractic care at Amplify Life Center, please give us a call.
When Should Care Start for a Whiplash Injury?
Whiplash injuries are a serious matter. If an injury of this caliber is left untreated then the potential long-term impact can be devastating. Unfortunately, most people that have been injured may not even realize they are injured until long after the accident. By the time many people realize they are in need of help, their problems will need more extensive treatment than if they had started treatment sooner.
Significant improvement was noted for 93% of the 28 patients studied in the Woodward study while under chiropractic care. In the research study, chiropractic care consisted of spinal Adjustments, PNF, and cryotherapy.
If you believe you have been injured and are in need of a chiropractor, call our team at Amplify Life Center to set up an appointment.
Disc Injury
Have you been told that you have a slipped disc or a disc injury? Slipped or injured discs can vary from slight to severe, but most will require at least some attention from a trained chiropractor. It’s important that you understand your condition and what it means for you, and a licensed chiropractor can help you develop the best treatment option for you.
The little pads that lie between your vertebrae are called the intervertebral discs. Each disc has a tough outer ring and a soft gel-like center, like a jelly doughnut. Your discs both join, separate, and protect your vertebrae from trauma. These discs serve as cushions or shock absorbers so that the bones don’t make contact with each other as you move. Without these discs, we would literally be unable to move our upper torso.
Disc Injury Diagnosis
If you are diagnosed with a protruding disc, it means that the gel has pushed out or is bulging due to injury, and is asymmetrical in different places. This may result in pinching and irritation of the nerve roots at that point, with varying levels of pain.
A herniated disc happens when the disc material ruptures to the point that the gel pushes outward. This can also cause severe pain and numbness due to the irritation of the nerves and can be very serious in many cases.
A disc extrusion is the worst type of disc injury. Essentially, the gel inside the disc balloons into the area outside the vertebrae or breaks off from the disc. This can lead to incredible back pain and can severely limit your range of motion.
If you have any questions, or would like to learn more about chiropractic care at Amplify Life Center, please give us a call.
Care Options
If you have injured discs, don’t despair, there are options. With proper care, an injured or damaged disc may be restored to health. With a combination of a healthy diet, low impact exercise, and warm and cold compresses, the pain can be lessened or even completely removed.
Unfortunately, in some cases of disc injury surgery may be the only option for treatment. The problem tissue will be removed by the surgery (a discectomy), which will remove the pressure on nearby tissue and nerves. With nearly half of a million discectomies performed each year, this procedure is fairly common and minimally invasive.
If you’re suffering from back pain that you believe is caused by a disc injury, call our chiropractic team today at Amplify Life Center to set up a consultation. The sooner you take control of your health the more options you will have for treatment.
Sprain/Strain Injury
Do you have a sprain or strain? Have you ever thought about the complex structure throughout your body that allows you to move while still somehow managing to keep your joints and bones in position? As complex as this process is, it is controlled by three primary structures; muscles, ligaments, and your nervous system. While each one of these structures wouldn’t be able to function without the other, they each serve their own purpose.
Do you have a sprain or strain?
Throughout this short article, Amplify Life Center will provide you with some general information about this system and some of the potential injuries that can occur if it is not functioning properly.
The Difference Between Muscles and Ligaments
While most people know how important proper muscle function is, few people have stopped to think about everything that they control. Whether you are walking to get the mail, talking to a friend, digesting a meal, or pumping blood throughout your body, muscles are the primary workhorse behind these actions. Without muscles you wouldn’t be able to accomplish these things, and unfortunately wouldn’t be alive reading this article. With how important muscles are to people, it should be no surprise that they have a very complex design. Muscles are built in a way that allows them to transform energy into motion, grow with added stress, and heal if not damaged beyond self-repair. Needless to say, keeping your muscles healthy and functioning properly is essential to life, and your nervous system plays the most important role in this process.
In contrast to muscles which are all about motion, ligaments serve the primary purpose of maintaining stability and support. Ligaments are the piece of the puzzle that are responsible for keeping bones in their proper position, including your spine. Without strong and healthy ligaments, it would be impossible to form joints, and the motion created by your muscles would serve no purpose. To create this stability, a ligament crosses a joint and attaches at each end. While one ligament may be enough to create support in smaller joints, often multiple ligaments work together in areas such as the knee or ankle. When functioning properly, with the correct signals from your nervous system, ligaments are built to withstand tremendous forces. In fact, many of the ligaments in your body are much stronger than bone.
What is a Sprain or Strain?
Everyone has probably heard of a strain or sprain and the two terms are usually grouped together. However, they each actually refer to a different type of injury, and occur by different mechanisms. Knowing the difference between the two and how to detect them plays a very important role in preventing these injuries from happening, and deciding which treatment avenue is best. While this article will provide you with some general information, the best way to determine which type of injury may have occurred is to consult with a trained health care professional. Our doctors at Back on Track Chiropractic can assist you with this process.
A strain is a term that is used to specifically describe an injury to a muscle or its attached tendon. Muscular strains occur when a muscle is worked beyond its limits. This can mean that the muscle was stretched too far or contracted too hard. Overworking a muscle that has not been properly trained can lead to this type of injury. If the muscle has not had time to properly grow and the nervous system has not had time to develop the correct muscle patterns, these structures are not able to handle excessive stress. People who are suffering from a muscular strain typically will notice swelling, cramping, and pain primarily during motion.
When you hear the word sprain, ligaments are the primary culprit. While all ligaments can stretch to some degree, ligamentous sprains occur when a ligament is stretched beyond its means. Typically, if the nervous system is not functioning properly resulting in improper control of a joint, the bones of a joint separate too far causing damage to the ligaments. The most common ligamentous sprains occur in the cervical and lumbar spine, knee, ankle, and wrist. These joints tend to be more susceptible because they allow more motion than other areas of the body. People who have developed a ligamentous sprain typically experience many of the symptoms of a muscular strain, but will primarily experience the pain over the damaged joint.
The most important thing to do if you believe you are suffering from a strain or sprain is to receive a proper evaluation by a trained health care professional. Our team at Amplify Life Center will conduct a complete history and examination as well as x-rays if indicated to reach a proper diagnosis. Once a diagnosis is made, our clinic will provide and direct you to the proper treatment avenues. Only through correct diagnosis and care will the injury heal properly.
Unlike other health care professionals, our staff will evaluate your nervous system to ensure that it is able to properly control these tissues and joints. With proper healing, nervous system function, and instruction, the odds of injury are greatly reduced. If you believe you are suffering from one of these injuries or would like to learn more information, contact Amplify Life Center to schedule a consultation.
