Electrical muscle stimulation is a therapeutic technique designed to speed the recovery process while providing relief from pain. It can also be used to improve strength and athletic performance. For many patients, electrical muscle stimulation provides many benefits when incorporated into a recovery regimen. 

How Does Electrical Muscle Stimulation Work?

In electrical muscle stimulation treatment, electrodes are positioned on the skin close to the injured area. Through these electrodes, gentle electrical pulses are delivered through the skin to the injured muscles and nerves. These pulses travel through nerve fibers to reduce or fully inhibit the pain signals going to the brain. 

If you’ve sustained an injury that’s moderate or severe, visiting an experienced physician will help you recover ASAP. But when you’re home after visiting a doctor or if the injury is mild, there are strategies that you can use to help speed the healing process on your own. 

You can use the methods listed below to care for an injury at home. Remember that if pain persists or symptoms don’t improve, visit a doctor, such as one of the skilled physicians at the Florida Spine & Injury Institute of Lakeland, for medical care. 

Time-tested and effective, the RICE method of at-home injury care should be your first approach after an injury. 

Chiropractic adjustments are a beneficial treatment for patients of all types. As a non-invasive procedure, adjustments provide a range of health benefits that can help you feel more comfortable throughout your daily routine. 

You should consider getting adjusted by your chiropractor to gain the following benefits:

People who are involved in car accidents don’t necessarily feel pain after the crash. Without pain, these individuals often don’t visit a doctor, assuming that they weren’t injured. Other victims of car accidents may feel some pain, but guess that they’re simply sore from the crash and don’t need to receive medical attention. 

Anyone involved in a car accident should see a doctor promptly. Here’s why:

Some Injuries May Have Delayed Symptoms

The symptoms of some common auto accident injuries, manely soft tissue injuries, may not appear immediately. The delayed onset of symptoms of whiplash, for example, make it common for the injury to go untreated. In fact, symptoms of whiplash may take days or even weeks to set in. When the symptoms do become apparent, patients will face a longer, more extensive recovery period than if they were to seek out treatment immediately. 

Car accidents and injuries can lead to painful spine conditions. Unfortunately, spine injuries are common in car accident victims and can easily go undiagnosed. Here, we’ll discuss the types of spine injuries that can occur after a car accident, as well as what you can do to receive the proper care for a spine injury. 

Types of Spine Injuries Caused by Accidents

Whiplash

Whiplash is one of the most commonly seen spinal injuries after an auto accident. This injury impacts the cervical spine, or neck area, and happens when the neck is forced into a fast backward and forward motion. This sudden, severe movement injures the surrounding tissues and can lead to a wide variety of symptoms. Not all cases of whiplash trigger the same symptoms, but common examples include:

Sometimes, an injury caused by a car crash doesn’t become apparent until days after the crash itself. If you’re experiencing back pain at some point after a car accident, there are a few steps that you should take to ensure that you receive the medical care that you need for a full recovery. In this situation, time is of the essence to ensure that you can use your PIP coverage for any expenses resulting from the injury. 

Potential Causes of Back Pain After a Car Crash

In a car crash, your body may be jerked suddenly in various directions. This places a significant amount of strain on your spine, as well as the muscles and soft tissues in your back. Back pain after a car crash may indicate any number of injuries. A few common examples:

Headaches are really common after a car accident. Most people write them off as being stress-related headaches brought on by dealing with insurance companies and attorneys, but headaches can actually be a sign that you have sustained whiplash. Even in a minor accident, a moderate case of whiplash could easily cause chronic headaches.

So how do you treat headaches caused by whiplash after the fact? Here are a few of our favorite treatments, although which one is right for you won’t be determined without a full examination and medical history.

Electrical Muscle Stimulation (E-Stim)

E-stim is one of the most popular treatments for whiplash because it is non-invasive and completely pain-free. During electrical muscle stimulation, electrical pulses are given at the base of the head and neck, sending signals to nerves that block or reduce pain signals going to the brain. Basically, we are tricking your brain into thinking that the body is not in pain.

It’s easy to think that a minor car accident at low speeds isn’t going to cause major damage to the vehicle, much less to the people inside, but even minor fender benders can lead to very expensive damages and injuries. Here are some of the most surprising injuries that can happen when you collide with another vehicle at 25 mph or less.

Slipped discs or spine misalignment

These are the most common spine injuries in minor car accidents; and with prompt and effective treatment, they are the easiest to remedy. It is actually very easy for the spine to be shifted out of alignment, and a slow speed car accident provides plenty of force to accomplish the task. If you see a chiropractor right away to have your spine realigned, you shouldn’t have too many issues going forward.

When you have tried physical therapy and other treatments for chronic back pain with little or no success, your doctor might be starting to talk about surgery. If you want to try to avoid a long and hard recovery, you’ll need to find other alternative treatments. Spinal decompression is a completely safe non surgical solution to chronic lower back pain caused by sciatica and disc disorders or conditions. But what is it, and how does it help? Here’s what you need to know.

What is spinal decompression?

Spinal decompression is essentially a series of strategic and controlled stretches. It is a treatment thought to relieve back pain by relieving pressure on the affected discs. It is a particularly effective treatment for patients with herniated discs or degenerative disc disease.

Non surgical spinal decompression is a common treatment method for patients with chronic back or neck pain. The procedure involves alternately stretching and relaxing the spine to reduce pressure, and thus inflammation and pain as well.

Not everyone is a good candidate for spinal decompression. Some patients with pre-existing health conditions should not have their spine stretched. When you first come into our office, we’ll take a detailed medical history to determine if your back issues and treatments thus far allow for use of spinal decompression therapy.