Pain Chiropractic Treatment at Byers Chiropractic & Massage
There are many reasons why a car accident could cause shoulder pain. Shoulder injuries can cause a variety of unpleasant symptoms, some of which can be debilitating and impact a person’s ability to carry out their daily activities. If you start experiencing new or worsened shoulder pain after being in a car accident, it’s important not to ignore it. You are constantly using your shoulders for mobility: picking things up, reaching out, and so much more. Irritation and swelling could quickly escalate into serious pain whenever you move your shoulder. If the injury causing your shoulder pain is not treated, then it could turn into a serious, chronic injury.
The shoulders have some of the most complex joints in the human body. This also means that it is more susceptible to injury if you are involved in a car accident. Your body has two main types of joints: ball-and-socket, and hinge joints. The shoulder is an example of a ball-and-socket joint, which gives it a larger range-of-motion. It also means that there are lots of soft tissues attached to the joint. When you are in a car accident, the force of the crash can injure these tissues or dislocate or fracture your shoulder.
This article will go over some of the common shoulder injuries that people suffer in car accidents.
Soft Tissue Injuries
The shoulder has many soft tissues, including tendons, ligaments, and muscles. In an accident, these tissues can be easily stretched or torn. Some examples of these injuries are muscle strains and ligament sprains. There are also contusion soft tissue injuries, which is where a strong impact causes serious bruising and swelling. Some symptoms of soft tissue injuries include pain while lifting objects or reaching out, pain while lying on your shoulder, muscle weakness in the shoulder that makes raising your arm difficult, and pain in the shoulder and/or upper arm. The pain may be sharp, aching, or radiating, and can be accompanied by tingling and numbness.
Whiplash Injuries
One of the most common car accident injuries we treat at Byers Chiropractic and Massage: Car Accident Urgent Care is whiplash. Whiplash is usually associated with neck pain, but it can also cause shoulder pain. Whiplash happens in incidents involving strong forces, particularly car accidents. It makes the head and neck forcefully whip back and forth, overextending the soft tissues. This type of injury can cause long-lasting, chronic shoulder pain if left untreated, and can even cause scar tissue to form. Scar tissue can cause stiffness and loss of mobility in the affected area.
Shoulder Strains and Sprains
A shoulder sprain happens when the ligaments in the shoulder get stretched beyond their limits, or are torn. Strains are similar, but involve tendons. While a strain happens where muscle tissue connects to bone, sprains involve tissue attaching two bones together. Both types of injuries usually are caused by the upper arm being forcefully jerked out of its normal position, such as what can occur in a car accident. Sprains range from just causing mild pain and swelling to causing loss of function, severe selling, and intense pain. Although sprains and strains don’t involve as much physical damage as some other types of injuries, they can cause more intense pain that lasts longer.
Torn Rotator Cuff
Rotator cuffs can get torn when the force of an accident impact rips soft tissues, detaching the tendon that connects the shoulder and upper arm bone. This type of injury can happen with repetitive use over time, but is usually caused by sudden trauma. Rotator cuff tears are the most common type of serious shoulder injury people get in car accidents. There are multiple types of torn rotator cuff injuries.
A partial tear is when the tendon is still partially attached to the bone. In these cases, only part of the tendon is torn, causing it to become thinner. If not treated, the person could be injured further. A full-thickness tear is when the tendon detaches from the bone. When a small part of it isn’t attached, it’s called a full-thickness incomplete tear. If the tendon completely unattached, it’s a full-thickness complete tear, where there’s a gap or hole in the affected tendon.
Rotator cuff injuries can cause serious symptoms, making it difficult and painful to lower your arm, lift objects, and reach out. This type of injury can also cause weakness in the arm when you twist or rotate it. If a person with a torn rotator cuff moves their shoulder in certain ways, it can cause a crackling sensation known as crepitus. As you can imagine, these symptoms can greatly impact a person’s daily life. They can make it hard to sleep and rest, work, drive, do chores, and more.
Dislocated Shoulder
The shoulder becomes dislocated when one of the three bones in the socket goes out of its normal position. When the humerus is pushed out of the socket (glenoid cavity), it’s dislocated. The person will experience pain initially, and then usually numbness. You’ll need a medical professional to put the shoulder back in place. If someone has had their shoulder dislocate once, they are at risk for it happening again. Chiropractic treatment can help prevent shoulder instability or future dislocation.
Frozen Shoulder
Frozen shoulder, also known as adhesive capsulitis, is a condition that can happen when a person doesn’t move their shoulder joint because of pain from an underlying problem. The connective tissues in the shoulder tighten and thicken around the joint. Car accidents can cause shoulder injuries that lead to restricted movement, and frozen shoulder. In order for frozen shoulder to be treated, it’s important that the original condition is identified and addressed.
SLAP Tear/Bankart Tear
SLAP stands for Superior Labrum from Anterior to Posterior. A SLAP tear is an injury to the fibrocartilage inside the shoulder socket known as the labrum. The labrum is meant to protect the shoulder joint. SLAP tears start at where the biceps tendon attaches to the labrum, from the back of the labrum to the front. A bankart tear also involves a torn labrum, but specifically when the shoulder is coming out of its socket. It usually occurs in younger people. Bankart tears can cause shoulder instability and dislocations later on down the road.
Shoulder Imgingement/Shoulder Fracture/Pinched Nerve
Shoulder impingement happens when the top part of the scapula, also known as the shoulder blade, causes inflammation from rubbing against rotator cuff tissues. Shoulder impingement can be very painful. A shoulder fracture is when one of the bones in the shoulder gets broken. It could be the scapula, clavicle, or humerus. The force of a car accident can easily cause a shoulder fracture. Pinched nerves in the shoulder can cause tingling, numbness, and pain and affect the shoulder, hands, and arms. Pinched nerves can be caused by other types of injuries.
Car accidents may cause multiple shoulder injuries at the same time. It’s important to get looked at by a medical professional after being in a car accident, especially if you are suffering from pain or other symptoms. Be on the lookout for a bulge or bump on your shoulder, which could mean you suffered a bone fracture. New popping, clicking, or cracking sounds when you move your shoulder could also indicate an injury. Some other symptoms of shoulder injuries include stiffness, weakness, tingling, numbness, joint instability, muscle spasms, swelling, inflammation, bruising, and more. Shoulder injuries may result in permanent symptoms if they aren’t treated. Our chiropractors at Byers Chiropractic and Massage: Car Accident Urgent Care often treat shoulder injuries in car accident victims.
There are many benefits to seeing a chiropractor for shoulder pain after a car accident. When you come to Byers Chiropractic and Massage: Car Accident Urgent Care, we will carry out a health exam to see what is causing your pain. It’s vital that we identify the origin of your shoulder pain so that we can properly treat it. We will ask questions about your health history so that we can get a whole picture of your situation. Our team will then put together an effective plan for treating your shoulder injury symptoms. Your health plan will probably include a combination of multiple treatment methods, such as massage therapy, chiropractic adjustments, and exercises targeting your shoulder pain.
The articulatory chiropractic technique aims to improve the shoulder joint’s range of motion. The chiropractor will move your arm through the range of motion it’s capable of. Articulatory chiropractic adjustments can also be done by applying force to your shoulder to improve its mobility. Sometimes, all a person needs to find shoulder pain relief is to have their range-of-motion restored.
Another chiropractic technique for shoulder pain is spinal manipulation. If a vertebra in the cervical or upper back spine region is misaligned, it can lead to shoulder pain. Spinal manipulation can put the vertebrae back into position so they aren’t pulling on the surrounding tissues or pinching any nerves. When your spine is balanced, it improves overall health and can reduce shoulder injury symptoms. There is also the direct thrust method, where the chiropractor applies specific force to the area. This can also help realign the spine.
Many clinical studies have found that chiropractic treatment can help relieve symptoms of shoulder injuries from car accidents. It’s effective for reducing shoulder joint inflammation, helping patients regain mobility, and relieving pain. Reducing inflammation goes a long way in helping injuries heal and not cause pain. Chiropractors know all about the human body, and how the muscular and skeletal systems work together. When one system in the body is not working properly, it can impact your whole body’s health. Chiropractic and massage treatments can help treat shoulder injuries.
Byers Chiropractic and Massage: Car Accident Urgent Care has helped many people recover from their car accident injuries. We are the chiropractors you can trust to help you heal. You don’t need to suffer from shoulder pain any longer. The sooner you get treatment, the sooner you can get back to your regular life. Ignoring symptoms and leaving shoulder injuries can make them worsen over time. Reach out to Byers Chiropractic and Massage: Car Accident Urgent Care today so that we can meet with you and set you on the road to recovery for your shoulder injury.
