Unless you have medical training, it’s difficult to know what the best treatment for injuries is without going to a doctor. While this won’t apply to all possible treatment for injuries, this is the protocol I use in my Plymouth chiropractic office. Also, you should always consult a doctor to have your injury properly diagnosed before following a course of treatment for injuries.
The first question is always, how did you injure yourself? If your injury was traumatic like a car accident, fall or sudden impact, there is always a chance something is broken. At that point we recommend x-rays before and treatment. Most patients who come into my Plymouth chiropractic office for treatment for injuries aren’t in this situation. A lot of time it is something that built slowly over time or “just happened”. In these cases, we skip the imaging unless there is a clinical indicator that it is something other than a musculoskeletal problem.
In the case of your back, we need to do a thorough exam to see how your posture is influencing your problem. In today’s world where people can’t pull their eyes away from a screen, it’s important to evaluate if a forward head posture is putting pressure on your skeleton in ways that it shouldn’t. Your head weighs between 12-15 lbs so if it is sitting forward on your skeleton an inch or four inches in some circumstances, it won’t just cause neck pain. It often causes problems all the way up and down your skeleton.
When you seek treatment for injuries in my Plymouth chiropractic office, we also evaluate how your lifestyle is contributing to your back problem. Are you a mostly sedentary person? Do you sit for work, commute an hour each way and then come home and sit more? Regular exercise and movement throughout the day is critical to feeling good.
As far as actual treatment for injuries, I typically set people up on a regular adjustment program until we can make changes in how the spine moves and change how the bones articulate with each other. Once we see what changes from that, I can make better recommendations involving stretches and exercises. In the beginning phase of a back injury, I typically recommend a lot of ice and walking.
The good news, if my patients adhere to the treatment plan we set up, especially the first month of it, we see great results. If you have questions on whether or not, chiropractic can help your injuries, book online and we'll speak about your case directly. https://www.activefamilychiropractic.com/booking-calendar