Chiropractic Can Help with Boating Injuries, Too

It’s not quite boating season yet in Florida, but it’s coming up fast. Here are the most common injuries people suffer in boating accidents and how a chiropractor can help.

Common Florida Boating Injuries

The most common boating accidents that chiropractic care can treat include the following:

• Concussions
• Spinal Cord Injury
• Neck Injury
• Dislocations
• Sprains and Strains
• Bruises

We will look at each of these injuries in detail and explain how a qualified chiropractor can treat your injuries.

Concussions

A concussion occurs when the brain moves within the skull. Concussions can cause loss of memory function, headaches, double vision, and other serious problems. A less serious concussion can be treated with chiropractic care.

A spinal realignment can take the pressure off the skull and relieve symptoms. By increasing blood flow through massage and other therapies, we can help alleviate the recurring headaches resulting from a concussion.

Spinal Cord Injury

These types of injuries can be serious and may require immediate medical care. A less serious but still very painful injury can be a herniated disc or misaligned spine.

A skilled chiropractor can realign your spine with different types of adjustments. A misaligned spine can cause pain in different areas of your body, which can affect your work and your sleep. You can come in for regular treatments to correct your problem and alleviate your pain.

If you have a disc problem, we have several methods of natural pain relief that can take the pressure off an inflamed disc. Also, we can treat sore back muscles that may be overcompensating for a disc injury. Our massage treatments as well as ultrasound and electric stimulus therapy can help relax tight muscles, promote circulation, and provide healing.

Neck Injury

Whiplash is a common injury that occurs at relatively low speeds, common in boating accidents. When the body suddenly moves forward, then backward, microtears may occur in the ligaments, causing the following symptoms:

• Stiffness
• Loss of range of movement
• Recurring pain in the neck
• Radiating pain in the shoulders or arms
• Headaches
• Blurry vision

Some of these symptoms may not occur for days or weeks after the accident, leaving you to wonder why they are happening. A skilled chiropractor will perform tests to see if whiplash has occurred. Treatments include realignment of the spine, massage, and other therapies to relieve pain and restore range of motion.

Dislocations

A shoulder dislocation can occur with overuse or if you strain when lifting or moving your arm above your head. Arthritis, bursitis, or tendonitis can also aggravate a dislocated shoulder.

You will experience sharp, intense pain if you have this type of injury. The good news is that a chiropractor can ease your shoulder back into position. We can perform a readjustment to restore function to your joint.

Massages and relaxation techniques will help ease the pain in your muscles. We may also use electrostimulation therapy to help muscles relax. We will teach you specific exercises to restore range of motion.

Sprains and Strains

Sprains and strains are common when a person overextends a limb, turns an ankle, or reaches out in an awkward motion. Since boating may use different muscle movements than you use in your daily routines, sprains and strains may occur.

Both sprains and strains can be surprisingly painful and debilitating. They often require a long rest period for recovery. You can use ice and over the counter pain relievers for at-home relief. However, serious sprains and strains can heal more quickly with chiropractic treatment.

Muscles get strained, and ligaments get sprained. We offer treatment solutions for both types of injuries. A knowledgeable Florida chiropractor will treat your sprains and strains with gentle stretches to rehabilitate the affected areas. We can also teach you stretching exercises to slowly restore function.

Bruises

After boating accidents, bruising is a common result. Bruising occurs when blood vessels break beneath the skin’s surface. They cause inflammation, and the pain may temporarily disable you from normal activities. Chiropractic care will gently restore circulation to the area and activate the body’s immune system, which will speed healing.

Seeking Chiropractic Care for Boating Injuries

If you have been injured in a boating accident, it’s important to seek chiropractic care as soon as possible for your injury. If you try to go without professional help, scar tissue may develop and require surgery to correct. By involving chiropractic care early on, you improve your chances of recovery without the side effects of prescription medication.

Reach out today to schedule a consultation. We’ll help you recover quickly.

About the Author: 

Dr. Singer has been a practicing chiropractor for more than 20 years, and USA Health & Therapy has been around since 2004. Over the course of his career, Singer has helped tens of thousands of people with all kinds of issues by using a wide variety of treatment strategies. He has extensive knowledge of chiropractic modalities, including Gonstead, Diversified, Thompson Drop Table, and Activator, and in 1997 he earned a special adjunctive Chiropractic Certification in Spinal Trauma (CCST) to better provide care for car crash victims. Dr. Singer is licensed to practice chiropractic medicine in both Florida and New York.