We see an awful lot of people coming into my office with carpal tunnel, tennis elbow, golfer’s elbow. We have also seen a fair amount of people coming in with plantar fasciitis recently, which has been quite interesting. From a chiropractic standpoint, to try and rehabilitate these injuries is a top priority. We want to make sure that the spine and nerve system are working properly and that there is no interference.
As most people know, chiropractors are really focused on removing nerve interference or pressure or irritation from pinched nerves, or what we call subluxations. When the bones misalign, they can irritate the nerve, which can slow down the communication in the body, and that will actually affect how quickly your body is able to heal and repair itself.
Make no mistake about it, when your body is trying to heal, it heals itself. It replaces the damaged or injured cells with healthy new ones, and that does not happen unless the nerve system is there to tell it what to do. So, chiropractic is important for clearing out the nerve system, eliminating interference, and making sure that the body can work optimally, especially when it comes to regeneration and healing.
There are other things that chiropractors do that are ancillary to the chiropractic adjustment. They can often do trigger point work, which is working on the muscles that are associated with the injury. Correcting alignment in the shoulder and elbow and wrist joints is very important. People with plantar fasciitis need to do certain rolling, and sometimes may need stabilizing orthotics or what we call spinal pelvic stabilizers.
There are many different things ranging from the adjustments to many, what we call, ancillary therapies, and sometimes the therapies require other people to be brought in. I am a huge fan of massage therapy, a lot for repetitive stress injuries because we are focused on the joints, but they can work on the muscles and really help facilitate healing in that respect. So, a lot of times, we will couple our chiropractic with massage therapists who can come in and out of the office and work in that respect, as well.
Many people don’t understand that you can get repetitive stress injuries in your neck and in your lower back, too. Golfers will have back injuries, neck injuries, and obviously, chiropractic has a very important role in handling those types of injuries and conditions.
Of the top three repetitive motion injuries, it doesn’t really matter which one you have. They all kind of respond in the same manner. You need to get some rest. You need to get some massage. You need to make sure that your nerve system is working optimally and that your body has its best chance to heal and battle back and fight these injuries.
Prevention is, of course, very important. By making sure that you are good at your sport, that you use good mechanics, you can help prevent problems. Be sure to use good seated postures at the desk. Use ergonomic chairs. Use the proper positioning at the keyboard. Be sure that your desk is set up properly, with your monitor at the right height and your keyboard at a good place for you, whether you’re tall or short. Those things need to be adjusted.
So really, prevention is the best way to make sure that these repetitive stress injuries, or repetitive motion injuries, don’t get the best of you.
Dr. Gregg D. Rubinstein, D.C., is a midtown Manhattan chiropractor with over 20 years of experience providing customized chiropractic treatment services to a wide range of clients in the Midtown Manhattan/West New York City area. Dr. Gregg Rubinstein and 57th Street Chiropractic can be reached at (917) 534-6484 and is located at 119 West 57th St. in New York, NY.
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