Plantation Chiropractor Rotator Cuff Injury Treatment

Shoulder Pain After a Car Accident

Shoulder injuries rank as one of the most common injuries a person obtains during a car accident. The shoulder is unique and has various tendons, ligaments, bones, muscles, and nerves that can easily be injured as a result of a car accident. So, what injuries can occur to the shoulder because of a car accident? These are the most common car accident-related shoulder injuries:

• Soft tissue injuries, such as injuries to the muscles, ligaments, and tendons. Car accidents can damage the soft tissue, leading to swelling, pain, and spasms.
• Whiplash. While whiplash is primarily associated with the back and neck, the shoulder can also be impacted by whiplash and lead to radiating pain to the shoulders and arms.
• Torn rotator cuff can occur in more serious and high-impact car accidents.
• Joint subluxation, which is where there is impingement of the tendons, nerves, or ligaments and leads to discomfort and pain.

What’s even worse about shoulder injuries is that not only can they impact your shoulder, but they can also lead to pain that radiates to your neck, head, arm, and wrist. It can also decrease your mobility, and you can experience numbness, and tingling.

Now that you know how a shoulder gets injured as a result of a car accident, you may want to know how a Plantation chiropractor a Carpe Diem Chiropractic can help with these types of injuries. The specific chiropractic treatment that you would receive can depend on several factors, including the type of injuries that you are suffering from. In general, your treatment plan will probably include:

Chiropractic Adjustment

The goal of this treatment option is to restore your spine to proper alignment, which can help treat issues like joint subluxation. This can also reduce pressure while restoring strength and mobility. With improved alignment, the nervous system gets a well-needed reset and it can reduce or even eliminate pain.

Massage Therapy

Massage therapy is useful because it can stimulate or restore the blood flow to any injured areas, as well as increasing mobility and reducing pain by encouraging lymphatic drainage. It’s also excellent for reducing your stress levels.

Physical Therapy

Through physical therapy, you will do stretches and specific exercises that are specifically used to restore strength, flexibility, and mobility to the shoulder.

Pain Management

Shoulder injuries after car accidents can be very painful. The chiropractor has various approaches to pain management that are non-invasive and don't have the negative side effects that you may suffer from due to pain medication.

If you suffered a shoulder injury after your car accident, you should contact a chiropractor to help you find the relief that you need to recover and get back to life.

What Causes Rotator Cuff Injuries and How to Treat Them?

When talking about the rotator cuff, this is a set of 4 muscles within the shoulder joints, which is responsible for stabilization and allows you to rotate your arms as freely as you do. However, there are injuries that can occur to the rotator cuff, which can be pretty debilitating for the patient. What causes rotator cuff injuries and what can you do about it?

There are several potential causes of rotator cuff injuries, which can be categorized in 2 ways: rotator cuff disease or rotator cuff impingement. Rotator cuff disease is a common condition that is diagnosed in patients that are over 40 years of age. This can generally develop from conditions like bursitis or muscle inflammation, then lead to tears that can impact the shoulder. Some signs of rotator cuff disease include:

• Shoulder pain, specifically while doing activities like golf or tennis.
• Inability to raise your arms.
• Generalized shoulder weakness.
• Frozen shoulder (sign of rotator cuff disease in later stages)

Rotator cuff impingement is inflammation of the tendons or shoulder bursa that is caused by overuse of the shoulder joint. Also known as “pitcher’s shoulder” or “swimmer’s shoulder”, this is an injury that can be easily treated but should be treated as soon as possible to prevent further or worsening injury. Some signs of rotator cuff impingement include:

• Stiffness
• Pain
• Reduction in range of motion

Typically, rotator cuff impingement can be simply treated with rest, ice, and anti-inflammatory medications. However, these treatments don’t always work which is why you need to see a chiropractor. Some treatments, like steroid injections, end up doing more harm than good. There are some exercises that the chiropractor will teach you to help in addition to the treatment plan that they have provided for you, such as:

• Rotator cuff strengthening exercises
• External isometric exercises
• Internal isometric exercises
• Rehabilitative Exercises

Understanding Cold Low Level Laser

Another treatment option that you can consider includes cold low level laser available in our Fort Lauderdale chiropractic office. This is a therapy where a device is used to take light or photon energy, which can penetrate through 2-inches of skin to improve symptoms of a variety of different conditions. This is a common treatment option that is used to treat such conditions as carpal tunnel, sciatica, osteoarthritis, and rotator cuff injuries. The light energy can cause a variety of different things to happen at the cellular level, which offers the patients relief. This is an FDA-approved treatment option that is considered to be very safe when done properly. The only safety warning is to ensure that the laser light is not used directly in the eye.

This is a non-invasive treatment option, which is a great choice for people who want relief without undergoing unnecessary surgeries or suffer from the side effects that can frequently occur as a result of using pain medication. Cold low level laser treatments are painless, offering just enough energy to create reactions within the cells. This type of treatment can help by:

• Improving the oxygen and blood flow to the shoulder, which helps to stimulate the healing process.
• Stimulates the release of endorphins, which is responsible for pain relief.
• Increasing the lymphocyte activity levels in the body, which can strengthen your body’s immune system response.
• Can reduce scar tissue formation.
• Can stimulate the function of the nerves in the area, decreasing numbness that you may suffer from as a result of your injuries.

This is a safe and very effective approach to treating a variety of conditions, including rotator cuff injuries. Our Plantation chiropractic office can arrange for your cold level laser treatment in our Fort Lauderdale chiropractic office.