Personal Injury - San Leandro Chiropractor

Chiropractic Rehabilitation and 4 Stages of Soft Tissue Healing

August 20, 2010 by drburt 13 Comments

The healing process is divided into four broad stages which are not mutually exclusive and overlap considerably.

1. Initial vascular reaction – Active Swelling

2. Inflammatory response – Passive Congestion

3. Proliferative phase – Repair

4. Remodeling

Wound healing refers to the body’s replacement of destroyed tissue by living tissue (Walter & Israel 1987). It comprises of two essential components whose differentiation is based on resultant tissue: Regeneration and Repair.

TISSUE INJURY CAUSES RESTRICTION OF MOTION DUE TO:

Inflammation & Swelling
Pain
Muscle Spasm

THE MAJOR GOALS OF CHIROPRACTIC CARE:

Relieve Pain
Promote Full Healing
Restore & Maintain Full Function
Reduce the Likelihood of Re-Injury
Prevent Accelerated Degeneration

Chiropractic Care Should Continue Throughout the Repair Stage. It Take Longer For Tissues to Heal & Normal Function to be Restored Than it Takes for Pain Relief. Pain Relief is not the Only Goal. Chiropractic Helps:

Restore Normal Motion, Function & Biomechanics
Improve Alignment of New Connective Tissue
Prevent Shortening of Scar Tissue & Chronic Stiffness
Restore & Maintain Flexibility of Ligaments & Muscles
Restore Normal Muscle Tone
Promote Quicker, More Effective Healing
Restore & Maintain Normal Sensation
Reduce the Risk of Re-Injury and Degeneration

STAGES OF SOFT TISSUE HEALING

STAGE I: ACTIVE SWELLING

Swelling Occurs for 12 to 72 hours
Motion is lost and pain increases

Goals of Care: Minimize pain and swelling

Care:

Rest & Support of Injured Area
Ice to Block Swelling, Pain, and Spasm

STAGE II: PASSIVE CONGESTION

Fluid trapped in tissues restricts motion, causes pain, & delays healing. Begins by second to fourth day

Goals of Care for Passive Congestion:

Remove fluid
Pain Relief
Begin to restore range of motion

Care:

Chiropractic Adjustments Help

restore motion
block pain
restore normal sensation
relax tight muscles
remove swelling
accelerate healing

Heat and Cold to Remove Fluid
Controlled Motion Exercises
Physical Therapy helps in Some Cases
Acupuncture Can Help With Pain Control

STAGE III: REPAIR

Beginning 5 days after injury, scar tissue is made for up to 6 weeks.

Lack of motion causes excess scar tissue in dense patterns disrupting normal function causing:

Excess Scarring
Chronic Stiffness
Limited Range of Motion
Poor Biomechanics
Chronic Pain
Weak Muscles & Ligaments
Loss of Normal Sensation
Poor Nutrition
Increased risk of Re-Injury
Accelerated Degeneration

If Motion is Restored & Maintained, Tissues Heal in a Much More Functional Way.

Coals of Repair Stage:

Restore Normal Range of Motion
Restore Sensation
Promote Full Healing
Relieve Pain

STAGE IV: REMODELING

Connective tissue remodels for better strength & flexibility. This often takes 3 to 14 week but may take up to 1 year with severe injury.

Chiropractic Helps Achieve these Goals:

Improve & Maintain Motion & Flexibility
Restore & Maintain Function
Reduce Chronic Pain
Reduce Risk of Re-Injury & Degeneration

This Post was based on Dr. Malik Slosberg’s Research.

What is Whiplash?

July 31, 2010 by drburt 5 Comments

Personal injury is a term often used to describe an injury most commonly caused by a car accident. It may also include other types of injury such as a slip or fall. Whiplash is most commonly associated with rear-end car collisions in which the heads of those in the front car are suddenly snapped back and forth by the impact. It is more accurately called cervical acceleration/deceleration (CAD) trauma or syndrome, which describes the rapid movements that can injure the vertebrae of the neck and the muscles and ligaments that support them.

Who suffers from whiplash?

Anyone can be subjected to whiplash, even in a low-force car crash at speeds as low as 5mph. But injuries associated with whiplash can also result from other mishaps in which the head is pushed or jerked beyond its normal range of motion. Whiplash most commonly causes serious and lingering neck pain, but there may also be back pain, headaches and dizziness. As much as bruising of the brain can sometimes occur in auto accidents. Severe cases of whiplash, may include symptoms such as blurred vision, ringing in the ears, nausea and numbness.
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Taking the Sting out of Whiplash

July 31, 2010 by drburt Leave a Comment

For many people, the term “whiplash” conjures up a fairly uncomfortable image: being rear-ended by another car and having your head suddenly snapped back and forth by the impact. Despite innovations in automotive design, whiplash injuries have become increasingly frequent in the past 30 years. Symptoms of whiplash can include serious and lingering neck pain, back pain, headaches and dizziness; no single effective treatment has been identified to deal with this chronic, frustrating condition.

But help may be on the way. A recent study in Spine suggests that early, active treatment is most effective for managing whiplash symptoms. In the study, “active” treatment consisted of repetitive motion exercises performed at home (10 times every hour, beginning within 96 hours of injury); “standard” treatment involved home exercises performed only a few times each day, starting two weeks after injury.

Results showed that 38% of patients receiving immediate, active treatment reported “no pain” at six-month followup, compared to only 5% of patients receiving delayed standard treatment. The authors note that this type of active home treatment is an “ideal form of rehabilitation” because it expends only small resources within the health care system.

It’s time to whip whiplash! If you or someone you know is suffering from whiplash, schedule an appointment today with a doctor of chiropractic.

Reference:
Rosenfeld M, Gunnarsson R, Borenstein P. Early intervention in whiplash-associated disorders. A comparison of two treatment protocols. Spine 2000: Vol. 25, No. 14, pp1782-87.