Spinal Injury Rehabilitation

In general, most of our national pastimes include some sort of sporting event. We find enjoyment, camaraderie and tradition from the sports teams for which we cheer. With such emphasis on the tradition and enjoyment of sports, parents enroll their sons and daughters in various types of sports at a young age. By junior high and high school, many children have been playing sports for a good portion of their lives and many have suffered from different musculoskeletal injuries along the way. The most common area of spinal injury from contact sports is the cervical spine. Some of these cervical injuries will require spinal injury rehabilitation and some will not, depending on the type and severity of the trauma. Some common forms of cervical spine injuries that result from contact sports include intervertebral disc trauma, stenosis, fractures and/or dislocations, sprains/strains and nerve damage.

Conservative Care

Conservative care for some of these injuries is the most ideal and successful form of treatment. Chiropractic care is generally indicated for intervertebral disc injuries, sprains and strains of the neck and nerve damage based on severity. Fractures would generally be referred first to an orthopedist and, if minimal damage exists and if indicated, a chiropractor could offer some additional medical support for this type of injury as well. Aside from post-injury care, a chiropractic physician is able to offer sports players preventative care as well. Stretching and strengthening exercises are ideal ways for a player to increase circulation and prepare the body for the stresses to come, which can help protect their bodies from suffering an injury during a sporting event. It is most important for any healthcare provider to assess trauma for proper diagnosis in a young sports player with much scrutiny as their growing bodies can produce symptoms that would indicate more than one diagnosis.

References Cited in this Article

www.medscape.com

www.spine-health.com

www.chiroweb.com