Work Injury
Unfortunately, work injuries are a common occurrence, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reporting about 2.9 million nonfatal workplace injuries in 2016. Of these injuries, slips, and falls account for most of them. Workplace injuries oftentimes lead to missed work and weeks of transitional duty until the person heals completely. A chiropractor like one from Exceptional Chiropractic, serving Ham Lake, MN, and the surrounding area, can reduce downtime by enhancing your recovery time.
Types of Workplace Injuries
Strains occur to the muscles as a result of a sudden motion that overstretches your muscle. You might notice bruising around the strain. Sprains, on the other hand, occur to a ligament, which attaches a bone to another bone. It results from a stretch or tears in a ligament. You might notice painful movement, bruising or swelling in the area if you suffer from a sprain.
Back injuries occur frequently in the workplace, especially to those who have to lift. Anyone who has a physically demanding job that requires prolonged periods of standing is at risk for a workplace injury such as a back problem.
People who work in an office are at risk for carpal tunnel, which is a condition that causes pain, numbness, and weakness in the hand and fingers from nerve damage. If you’re sitting at a desk all day, you’re placing stress on your neck and back. Tendonitis, a term that describes inflammation of a tendon, is caused by repetitive tasks that lead to swelling of the tendon that causes you pain and discomfort.
A fall is a common occurrence that could cause a misalignment in your joints. A fall could cause a herniated disc, which is when a disc in between the vertebrae ruptures, causing the contents to seep out into the spinal canal. Another possibility is a hernia, which is when an organ pushes through the tissue that supports it.
Whiplash can happen if you drive for work and get into an accident. It’s also possible that if you work from a high place that you could fall from a high place.
How a Chiropractor Can Help
A chiropractor in Ham Lake, MN can help with back and neck issues as well as various other musculoskeletal issues. For instance, if you develop a neck or back injury, our chiropractor can perform a spinal alignment, a treatment that consists of a manual manipulation of the spine. Another potential treatment is spinal decompression, which is a treatment that utilizes traction to gently stretch the spine in order to let the discs in between the spine to heal.
Our chiropractor may use manipulation on other areas of the body. It’s possible chiropractic and manual muscle therapy techniques can help in some cases of a work injury. Another possible treatment is guided exercises that help to stretch and/or retrain your soft tissue to increase blood flow to the injury, reduce pain/inflammation, and improve awareness of the body part that was injured, so that you reduce the likelihood of a re-injury down the road.
Make an Appointment
If you experience an injury in the workplace, contact our chiropractor at Exceptional Chiropractic, serving Ham Lake and the surrounding area, by calling us at (763) 208-5382 to schedule an appointment.
