Knee Care 101

By some measures, your knees are your body’s largest joints, but they are also the ones most likely to be injured. More than 11 million men and women over the age of forty visit doctors every year due to knee pain. Taking care of your knees helps to make sure these vital joints continue to work smoothly and comfortably so that you can continue to live an active lifestyle.

5 Steps to Healthier Knees

Step 1: Stay Active, but Don’t Overdo It. If you don’t put in the time and effort it takes to keep your knees moving, they can start to stiffen, leading to discomfort and increasing your risk of injury. At the same time, dramatically increasing your levels of activity (particularly if you haven’t been physically active for a while) can cause injuries from repetitive strain. If you have never followed an exercise routine, ease into this type of activity slowly. If you work out hard on a regular basis, make sure to include rest days to give your knees a break.

Step 2: Manage Your Weight. Every extra pound you carry puts additional pressure on your knees. A study conducted by Stephen P. Messier of Wake Forest University found that losing even a small amount of weight can significantly decrease your risk of arthritis in the knees. If knee pain makes it difficult for you to lose weight through exercise, try using a stationary bike or elliptical machine to reduce the impact on your joints.

Step 3: Build Muscle Around Your Knees. The muscles that surround and support your knees also help to absorb shock. Strengthening your hamstrings and your quadriceps will help give your knees the backup they need. Talk to your chiropractor or a personal trainer for ideas on the best ways to strengthen these muscles.

Step 4: Don’t Forget to Stretch. While the muscles around the knees do need to be strong, they also need to be flexible. Regular stretching helps to keep these muscles from pulling the knee out of alignment.

Step 5: Don’t Ignore Pain. If your knee is painful, swollen, or making unusual noises, check in with a doctor as soon as possible. These symptoms can be a sign of damaged cartilage, an issue that can be corrected with early intervention. Trying to “push through” pain without knowing what is causing it puts you at risk of additional injury, so never hesitate to consult with a professional if you think there might be a problem.

Chiropractic Care and Your Knees

Chiropractic care is a vital resource when it comes to keeping your knees healthy. Your chiropractor will take the time to examine and evaluate your joints, muscles, posture and biomechanics to determine the root cause of any discomfort. He or she will then recommend and perform manual techniques that will help to bring your body back into alignment. You will also have the opportunity to discuss your lifestyle and receive recommendations on changes that you can make to continue to improve your knees’ health.

Taking good care of your knees takes commitment, but the rewards are well worth it over the long haul. Talk to your chiropractor today to learn more!

auto accident injury wilmington nc

Auto Accidents and Spinal Disk Injuries

Auto Accidents and Spinal Disk Injuries

Every day, thousands of people across the country are involved in auto accidents. Some are minor fender benders, while others are high-impact collisions. But, what they both have in common is that the spine takes a beating regardless of the speed you’re traveling when the accident occurs, albeit, the more severe the accident, the more severe the potential for injury.This may have you wondering – why is the neck and spine so vulnerable to injury? Taking a closer look at what happens during an auto accident will give us the answer. If you have suffered an auto accident injury, contact us! 

An Accident’s Impact on Your Neck and Spine

Think for a moment about those car commercials where they talk about the car’s safety record. Remember the scene where the car crashes into the wall? What happens to the crash test dummies? The car abruptly stops, but the bodies inside the car continue moving forward, halted only by the air bag and their seatbelts, which engage and pull the dummies back.

In a severe auto accident, the entire body goes through a snapping motion that can cause a host of different injuries to your cervical (neck) vertebrae, including fractures. Even in cases where fractures don’t occur, the sheer violence of the tension, rotation, extension, and flexion can result in a painful condition commonly known as whiplash.

But, don’t think that the neck is the only part of the body subject to injury in an accident. Because the forces caused in an accident can subject a body’s facet joints, muscles, ligaments, soft tissues, and spinal vertebrae to undergo enormous pressures, a wide variety of injuries can occur all throughout the body. When your spinal disks are already slightly degenerated as a result of aging, all it takes is a little bit of extra pressure for them to become herniated.

One of the biggest problems with auto accidents is that the injuries they cause are sometimes not even noticeable until days after the collision. This is because the body’s muscles tense up naturally during the crash and the body’s natural adrenaline kicks in to help manage any pain. But, once the adrenaline wears off; the true impact of the injury starts setting in.

Chiropractic Care Can Help Relieve Your Neck and Back Pain

Today’s chiropractors are highly trained in helping victims of auto accidents manage their musculoskeletal pain using a wide variety of chiropractic techniques, including spinal manipulation, traction, physiotherapy, kinesiology, and more. Chiropractors can teach you exercises to help heal your muscles and tendons from an auto accident injury Wilmington NC and they can help alleviate your pain so you can heal faster and more effectively. And, unlike traditional medicine, which only masks the pain instead of treating it, chiropractic care treats the actual cause of the pain, thus resulting in long-term relief.

Suffer an Auto Accident Injury Wilmington NC? Call Southeastern Today!

If you recently suffered an auto accident injury Wilmington NC and you’re experiencing ongoing pain as a result, call Southeastern Chiropractic today at 910-790-3666. We are here for you. Our chiropractic team can help you manage your pain naturally and effectively. Discover for yourself the difference that safe and effective chiropractic care can make. With six locations throughout the Wilmington area, we have an office conveniently close to you.