Disk Injury

Are you living with a slipped disc or other disc injury? If you have a suspicion that your chronic back pain is being caused by a disc injury, or you have received a diagnosis that confirms you are dealing with this kind of issue, you will probably benefit from seeing a professional chiropractor.
Whether the pain is mild or severe, it is important to deal with it promptly so that the issue does not progress to the point of causing more permanent damage. The following article discusses some of the symptoms of disc injuries with the aim of helping you to understand what you are dealing with. It also goes over how chiropractic may give you immediate relief from the pain and discomfort associated with a disc injury, as well as possible long term recovery.

What is a Disc injury?

The little pads that lie between your vertebrae are called the intervertebral discs. Each of these discs has a tough outer ring and a soft gel-like center. Your disc’s job is to both join and to separate your vertebrae from one another. These discs act as cushions or shock absorbers, so that the bones don’t make contact with each other as you move around, carry large objects and bend over. Without the discs you would literally be unable to move our upper torso. Here are a few of the different kinds of disc injuries that make movements of the upper torso painful and difficult:
A protruding disc occurs when the disc becomes asymmetrical and the gel is pushed out or bulging.
A herniated disc is when the disc material has ruptured to the point that the gel pushes outward.
A disc extrusion is the worst type of disc injury. This is when the gel balloons extensively into the area outside the vertebrae or breaks off from the disc.

Signs and Symptoms of a Disc Injury

All of the above issues tend to result in considerable back pain, numbness and limitation of range of motion due to the irritation of the nerve roots at the point where the injury occurs and the impact this has on the surrounding tissues. A number of distressing symptoms can arise from this nerve irritation and damage, including but not limited to:

• Back pain
• Neck pain
• Weak legs or feet
• Leg and foot pain, numbness and tingling (also known as sciatica)
• Loss of bladder or bowel control

Chiropractic Care for Disc Injury

A chiropractic treatment involves a thorough assessment of your medical history and x-rays, as well as a physical examination, in order to determine the extent of the disc injury and the appropriate treatment.
The approach that is taken will be individually tailored to your specific issue but will always include gentle adjustments to the spine to relieve pressure on the nerves and deal with the pain and discomfort.

Whiplash

The name whiplash, says it all. This injury occurs when the head and neck are whipped from back to front, similar to how a whip is cracked. The majority of car accidents are rear-end collisions, with whiplash being a common result. Whiplash can also occur from other kinds of trauma, accidents, abuse and falls.
Many people in Atlanta who have been involved in an accident don’t even realize they have received a whiplash injury until weeks or months later when the problem becomes persistent and leads to other issues. If your neck has been injured in an accident or other incident, this article will help you to understand if you have a whiplash injury and how chiropractic care can help you to treat it.

What is Whiplash?

When the neck is whipped from back to front during a car accident, while playing contact sports such as football, or occasionally from an assault or other physical trauma, a number of things can happen to the spine and surrounding soft tissue. Whiplash describes the initial impact, but the results can include:

• Disc bulges and herniation
• Subluxations (misalignment of the vertebrae in the spine)
• Injured bones in the spine
• Irritated and damaged nerves
• Pulled ligaments and muscles in the neck

What are the Symptoms of Whiplash?

Whiplash injuries can range from mild to very severe. Injuries tend to be more significant when your headrest is positioned too low. If the impact was quite severe or the headrest was low there is the possibility that bones are broken or tissue is damaged and it is highly recommended that you see a chiropractor and receive a thorough examination and x-rays. Even if the impact seemed mild, you may have whiplash if you are experiencing any of the following symptoms:

• Neck pain
• Shoulder, upper back and arm pain
• Headaches
• Blurred vision
• Pain when turning the head
• Inability to move or turn the head fully
• Dizziness
• Tiredness
• Numbness or tingling in the arms, hands and fingers
• Ringing in the ears
• Difficulty sleeping
• Depression

As you can see there are a wide range of symptoms, and not all of them may be immediately traceable to whiplash. Even if you have been cleared by a doctor, your pain could still be related to whiplash and you may need treatment to correct the problem. If you have recently been injured it’s important to get your spine checked as soon as possible. The sooner that you start treating the issue the less chance you have of it developing into a long term problem.

Chiropractic Care for Whiplash

Because the majority of whiplash incidents impact the spine and the surrounding nerves and tissues, chiropractic care is an excellent avenue for treatment. Chiropractic doctors are skilled in assessing the source of the pain associated with a whiplash injury and determining a plan for effective treatment. Chiropractic treatments are gentle and non-invasive. Through small adjustments, people find great relief from the pain associated with whiplash, and are set on a road to full recovery. Call our team at Advanced Integrated Medicine today to get started on the track to recovery.

Work Injury

Many people are surprised to find out that the majority of work injuries are not from serious accidents, but from overuse and repetitive stress injuries. However, there are as many ways to injure yourself at work as there are different occupations, and none of them are very fun. The most important thing when dealing with a work-related injury is that you don’t leave it until it requires more serious intervention or leads to an untreatable problem. This article talks about some of the risk factors involved with common work injuries and how chiropractic care can help you to heal from them.

Repetitive Stress and Overuse Injuries

As mentioned above, the most common forms of work injury are from repetitive stress and overuse. Small tasks done with poor posture can create big problems over time. Twisting and turning while moving boxes or even continuous typing can cause both acute and chronic pain to arise. Even if you are using correct posture, the simple act of doing the same movement day in and day out can create major problems over time. Here are some of the common repetitive stress injuries:

• Frozen Shoulder
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
• Sciatica
• Back Ache
• Arthritis
• Slipped or Herniated discs

The list goes on. Even if you are just at the beginning of an overuse injury, or you are concerned that you may start to develop one because of the nature of your work, it is important to start preventative and early treatment to ensure the issue does not progress to something more problematic.

The Common Factor in Work-Related Injuries

Whether you have had an accident at work, or are injured from repetitive stress, it is very common for the bone structure and particularly the spinal column to be impacted, and to be the source of the pain you are experiencing. When the vertebrae and other joints become misaligned they will often put pressure on the nerves that pass through them and cause pain that radiates out from the source of the injury to other parts of the body. Furthermore, when the bones are not properly aligned, the flow of communication, blood and oxygen can become impeded, leading to a decrease in your sense of wellbeing in the short-term, and damage to the related systems in the long-term.

Chiropractic Care for Work Injuries

People experiencing work injuries are often referred to chiropractors because of the high success rate with treating these types of injuries. Chiropractic care offers a gentle, non-invasive first step when seeking treatment. A chiropractor will perform a thorough evaluation in order to assess your condition and find the exact source. Once the cause of the pain has been determined the chiropractor will work with you to develop an individualized treatment plan.
The sooner you receive proper care after a work injury, the easier it is to avoid further pain and complications. Call our team at Advanced Integrated Medicine today to get started on the track to recovery.