Hurt at Work? Chiropractic Treatment Can Help You Recover from Your Injuries
Whether you work in an office, a fishing boat, a manufacturing plant, or another location, you may be injured on the job at one time or another. In fact, 2.8 million people suffered workplace injuries in just one year, according to the 2019 Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses. If you're ever injured on the job, chiropractic care can ease your pain and help you get back to work sooner.
Types of Injuries Your Chiropractor Can Treat
Chiropractors treat a variety of on-the-job injuries, including:
- Strained and Sprained Muscles and Joints
- Pinched Nerves
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
- Tendonitis of the Wrist, Elbow, Shoulder, or Knee
- Herniated Discs
- Whiplash
- Back and Neck Pain
- Arm and Shoulder Pain
- Rotator Cuff Injuries
- Sciatica
- Bursitis
- Trigger Point Pain
- Hip Pain
Chiropractic Treatment Eases Pain Practically Anywhere in Your Body
Lifting, turning, holding, pushing, throwing, or carrying objects are the top cause of workplace-related injuries, according to the National Safety Council. These injuries can strain the muscles in your back and neck and move your spine out of its natural alignment. Back and neck injuries may also occur as a result of poor posture. If you spend hours sitting at a desk, driving a truck, or using a digital device, you may be more likely to develop neck or back pain.
Spinal manipulation, a treatment used to correct spinal alignment, can ease your pain. The treatment involves quick, hands-on pressure that moves vertebrae back into alignment.
Once your spine is properly aligned, you'll also notice less tension in your muscles. Manipulation, massage, ultrasound therapy, and other treatments improve the flow of blood to the injured area, which speeds healing. Treatments also decrease inflammation and decrease painful pressure on your nerves.
Sciatica, a condition that occurs when nerves in your lower back become pinched or irritated, can be a problem if you've been hurt at work. The shooting pain travels from your lower back to your buttocks and legs, making it difficult to walk, stand, or even sit. Reducing the pressure on the nerves with chiropractic treatment relieves the pain and reduces nerve inflammation and muscle spasms.
Chiropractic treatment is just as effective at improving carpal tunnel syndrome symptoms, reducing bursitis pain, or loosening knotted muscles. When a workplace injury causes knee or hip pain, chiropractic care offers an excellent solution. Hip or knee manipulations keep joints loose and mobile, reduce inflammation, and restore normal function.
Your Range of Motion Will Improve After Chiropractic Treatment
After an injury, you may notice that you can't move your back, neck, arms, or legs quite as easily as you could before. Range of motion issues can be caused by spinal misalignments, tight muscles, or scar tissue build-up around a joint.
Chiropractic treatment improves the range of motion by realigning your spine and loosening muscles, ligaments, and tendons. Massage and soft tissue mobilization treatments gently break apart scar tissue, relax muscles, and stretch tight tissues.
Chiropractic Offers an All-Natural Way to Treat Pain
Pain medication is certainly effective, but it does have a few troubling drawbacks. It's easy to become addicted to prescription painkillers, particularly if you're taking opioid medications. Fortunately, addiction is much less likely to be a problem if you're under the care of a chiropractor.
In fact, patients who received chiropractic treatment for neck or back pain had 64% lower odds of receiving an opioid prescription, according to a meta-analysis published in the February 2020 issue of Pain Medicine.
Chiropractic treatment can also help you avoid nausea, drowsiness, and other prescription drug side effects. The treatments may make it possible to forgo prescription pain medications completely, or at least reduce the dosage.
Are you suffering from an on-the-job injury? We can ease your pain and help you get back to work. Contact our office today to schedule your appointment.
Sources:
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Employer-Reported Injury and Illnesses, 2019, 11/4/20
Chiropractic Economics: Text Neck Pain, Treatment and Prevention, 10/30/19
Palmer College of Chiropractic: Benefits of Chiropractic
National Safety Council: Top Work-Related Injury Causes
American Chiropractic Association: Neck Pain and Chiropractic