Author: Dr. Tyler J Tonso, DC

The Inevitable Spring Storm In Wyoming

After a big snowstorm like we just had here in Cheyenne people can run in to all sorts of problems. Slipping and falling, pain from shoveling, auto accidents, or even simply achy arthritic joints due to the cold are all common events that happen with wither storms. So how can chiropractic help? Here’s a rundown on what our office can offer for times like these:

Falling

There’s really not much you can do to try to avoid this one. Everyone tries to be careful but unfortunately sometimes you just take a fall. For some hard falls or for elderly it’s important to get evaluated for fractures which can commonly occur when falling on to your tailbone, elbow, or wrist. Even if there is no fracture, sprains or strains can take weeks to heal sometimes if not properly treated. For typical falls some treatments we offer are electrical stimulation to decrease muscle spasms and numb the area of pain, chiropractic adjustments to restore proper joint motion, and a variety of soft tissue therapies including massage therapy. After an area is injured it’s always important to eventually do the proper rehabilitation exercises to ensure the area heals correctly as well.

Low back pain associated with shoveling can sometimes lead to more serious conditions such as disc herniations.

Shoveling

The reason why shoveling often causes low back flare-ups is because the worst biomechanical movement for the low back is flexing the low back, with a twist, with a weight away from the body. Does this sound anything like shoveling? This repetitive motion can cause subluxations in the low back, tears of the lumbar discs, and if done enough can eventually lead to more serious conditions such as disc herniations. It’s important after injuring the low back from shoveling to be educated on proper biomechanics and rehabilitation exercises that attempt to reverse the negative repetitive motions that were done to the low back. Common treatments for injured low backs from shoveling always include exercises but may also include electrical stimulation, therapeutic ultrasound to decrease the inflammation, massage therapy, elastic tape to emphasize proper posture, and chiropractic adjustments.

Auto-Accidents

After an auto-accident it’s common for people to not have much pain for a day or two afterwards. However, after the initial day or two following the accident people may experience increased muscle stiffness, headaches, and general pain in the neck, mid back, and even low back. The reason why there is so much pain after an auto-accident is several small ligaments are torn throughout all the small joints in the spine. This leads to inflammation in several small joints that are well innervated by pain nerves. The muscles respond by going in to spasm to protect the spine and also spasm due to being partially torn themselves. This straightens the normal curvature of the cervical spine which also causes problems.

Our decompression table can help with neck pain after an auto-accident

People tend to have a variety of symptoms including headaches, arm tingling, blurry vision, double vision, pain with swallowing, and muscle cramps. It’s extremely important to get evaluated after an auto-accident if you are experiencing any pain at all. People often ignore their pain and think it will going away within the next week or two like most other injuries but soon realize this is not the case. The small joints throughout the spine need specific treatments and therapies to ensure that they heal correctly without lying down too much scar tissue or inhibiting normal range of motion in the future which can cause chronic pain. Therapies often include heat and ice therapy, kinesio tape, electrical stimulation, cervical traction, chiropractic adjustments, massage therapy, and rehabilitation exercises.

Achy joints

People with arthritis will often complain of achy or stiff joints with cold weather swings like this. Common treatments include heat therapy, cervical and lumbar traction, and chiropractic adjustments which help fluid get in to the joints which helps decrease the pain associated with this.

Hopefully you made it out of this storm unscathed but unfortunately these things do happen. If you have any questions about the services we can offer or about your injury, feel free to contact our office.