Sprains and Strains

Chiropractic care is a very effective treatment and management for sprains and strains in the body. We refer to this as a “soft tissue injury.” A sprain involves the ligaments and a strain involves the tendons and muscles. Some of the signs and symptoms for a strain are: muscle stiffness, tenderness, or soreness and swelling. Some of the signs and symptoms of a sprain are: pain at the time of injury, swelling and bruising.

Sprains generally happen when a twisting force is applied to a joint while it is bearing weight, which causes the ligament to stretch beyond its usual limit.  Sprains tend to happen with a sudden, unexpected movement ( a fall or a twist).  Muscle strains happen when the weight on a muscle is greater than the weakest part of the muscle can bear. Strains tend to happen during activities that require your muscles to stretch and bear weight at the same time.  some evidence suggests that being injured before or having limited flexibility contributes to sprains.

You are at risk for a sprain or strain if you do the following:

• Exercise without warming up properly.

• Use athletic equipment that does not fit properly.

• Participate in sports and activities that you are not conditioned for.

• Exercise when bones and muscles are fatigued.

It’s ironic, but soft-tissue injuries sprains/strains actually take longer to heal on average 6 months, versus a bone fracture which usually heals in 6 weeks. A general guideline  for treating sprains/strains are:

• Protection-make sure if it is a new injury that it is protected from movement and further injury.

• Rest-if an area of the body is injured it must be rested, so it can heal properly.

• Ice-Ice is a crucial part of healing any new injury.  Study after study has shown ice to be the most beneficial thing the patient can do to reduce damage, healing time and swelling.

• Compression-this is a very important part in the initial stages of the  injury to keep the swelling out of an area. Otherwise it may take quite some time to get the swelling out of the injured area.

In our office in addition to the chiropractic adjustment, which takes pressure off the pinched nerves and gives pain relief, we also do electrical stimulation (muscle stim.), which basically puts a low electrical current into the muscle and which aligns molecules in the body thus allowing it to heal faster. We also do massage therapy, which helps healing by breaking up adhesions in sprains and strains by re-aligning muscle fibers.  We also recommend stretching and strengthening exercises to aid recovery.

Dr. Goldberg discusses the Treatment of Sprains and Strains.

Sprains and Strains: Treatment Studies

In one recent study of people with ankle sprains, researchers compared chiropractic joint manipulation with an anti-inflammatory medication.  They found that joint manipulation was as effective as the anti-inflammatory medication in improving pain and flexibility. It was more effective than the medication in improving range of motion. This is because chiropractic adjustments  sets the joints in motion, aligns it up, and increases joint mobility, which helps it heal faster. This breaks up the stiff, locked-up, and fixated joints, and accelerates healing.

Give Wellness Associates a call at:412-367-3778 for the conservative treatment and management of sprains/strains and  soft-tissue injuries.  Health and wellness without a prescription. Call us today for effective treatment of sprains and strains.

Tags: chiropractic treatment, Dr. Goldberg, how to diagnose a sprain, how to diagnose a strain, how to treat a sprain, how to treat a strain, orthopedic injury, Pittsburgh Chiropractor, soft tissue injury, sprained ankle, Wellness Associates, what is a sprain, what is a strain

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 14th, 2011 at 12:46 pm and is filed under Ask The Doctor, Sprains and Strains. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.