When you need to provide for yourself and your loved ones, you can't afford to lose your ability to work due to painful, debilitating health challenges. Unfortunately, the workplace offers ample opportunities for musculoskeletal injuries, pinched nerves, and repetitive motion strain that can make your work difficult or impossible.
Fortunately, you can often get relief from work-related injuries through non-surgical, drug-free methods such as chiropractic care, especially when that chiropractic care plays a role in a larger holistic healing plan. Check out three common work-related injuries chiropractic care can treat.
1. Text Neck
Countless employees spend hours each day staring down at their smartphones, tablets, laptop screen, or desktop computer monitors. While these visual devices may prove invaluable for getting your work done, excessive or unwise use of them can lead to a painful syndrome known as text neck.
You might not realize that a human head typically weighs 10 to 12 pounds. As long as it sits symmetrically on top of the cervical spine, the neck muscles can support this weight without difficulty. However, when you droop your head forward to view digital devices, the forward angle can put up to 60 pounds of force on your neck.
If you suffer from neck pain and upper back stiffness due to text neck, your chiropractor will examine your posture and cervical spine. Chiropractic adjustments can correct alignment errors created or worsened by text neck, easing symptoms. You may also receive advice on how to maintain a healthier head position at work.
2. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Pain, tingling, weakness, or numbness in your hands may occur due to a cervical spinal misalignment, or it may stem from a common work-related problem called carpal tunnel syndrome. In carpal tunnel syndrome, a narrow tunnel in your wrist gets inflamed, pinching the median nerve that runs through the wrist to the hand.
Your chiropractor will evaluate your spinal column as well as the hand experiencing problems to determine where the root problem lies. If alignment problems in the bones of your wrist make you vulnerable to carpal tunnel syndrome, adjustments to those bones may free up space in the carpal tunnel, relieving symptoms without surgery.
Since carpal tunnel syndrome typically involves soft tissue swelling and inflammation in the wrist, your treatment plan will probably include techniques such as massage therapy and wrist exercises. Massage therapy can reduce pain and swelling, while wrist stretches can take pressure off the median nerve.
3. Plantar Fasciitis
If you spend most of your workday on your feet, you may start suffering from stabbing pains in your heels, especially when you first stand up after a night's sleep. This symptom often points to a kind of repetitive injury syndrome called plantar fasciitis, named after the connective tissue that defines and supports your foot's arches.
Workers can develop plantar fasciitis due to congenitally flat or high arches, footwear that fails to offer enough arch support, poor posture related to spinal misalignment, obesity, or all of the above. If your plantar fasciitis stems from a misalignment in your feet or lower back, chiropractic adjustments can improve posture and weight distribution.
Stiff, tight connective tissues often respond well to stretching exercises that keep them relaxed and limber. As part of your holistic healing plan, your chiropractor may prescribe specific stretches to help you banish or prevent nagging foot pain and soft tissue inflammation.
Your chiropractor may recommend custom orthotics to help support your arches during those long work shifts. Unlike over-the-counter insoles, custom orthotics match your arches' dimensions perfectly for maximum relief. You may also receive instructions to lose weight or use a different kind of footwear on the job.
If work-related chronic pain and repetitive motion injuries interfere with your ability to earn a living, play sports, or perform everyday household chores turn to Holistic Health Center, P.C. We can identify the underlying cause of your pain and provide you with an effective, customized, non-surgical treatment plan. Contact our office today.