A very few number of research studies have been conducted to examine how effective the Schroth method is towards the management of scoliosis, particularly in countries such as the United States, where the duration of therapy programs are generally constrained to an average of 1 to 3 sessions.
Researchers conducted a study on a 26 year old female with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis in order to examine the effects of Schroth therapy. The physical therapy regimen included a 1-hour Schroth method session of exercises, twice per week for four weeks, followed by one session of the Schroth therapy each week for 20 additional weeks. Furthermore, the research study also included a home exercise program which consisted of 30-minute sessions, five days per week. All evaluation measurements and results were recorded before and after the treatment.
After a 6-month treatment period, the patient had experienced a significant and measurable improvement of symptoms as well as the overall condition. Additionally, the patient was satisfied with their results, reporting improved bodily strength and she felt more comfortable with her appearance.
The findings of the research study suggest that scoliosis treatment utilizing the Schroth method and it’s specific exercises may be an effective treatment option for the spinal condition to the traditional methods of treatment and rehabilitation.
Researchers also conducted another study to compare the effectiveness of Schroth method exercises in other patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Designed as a randomized-controlled study in an outpatient exercise-unit and in a home setting, the research study consisted of fifty-one patients who were diagnosed with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis or AIS. Forty-five of the patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis whom met the inclusion criteria were divided into three groups. The Schroth method exercises were applied to the first group in the clinic, which were also given to the second group as a home regimen and the third group was the control group.
The findings of the research study demonstrated an improvement of the condition and its symptoms in the clinic Schroth method exercise group compared to the other groups. According to the results, the waist asymmetry improved only in the clinic exercise group where the results of the other groups worsened. In conclusion, the Schroth exercise program was effective towards improving scoliosis and its symptoms.
How to Treat Scoliosis – About the Schroth Method
The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal injuries and conditions. To discuss options on the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .
By Dr. Alex Jimenez
Additional Topics: Neck Pain and Auto Injury
After being involved in an automobile accident, the sheer force of the impact can often cause whiplash, a common type of neck injury resulting from the sudden, back-and-forth motion of the head against the body due to a car wreck, or other incident. Because of this, many of the complex structures found within the neck, including the spine, ligaments and muscles, can be stretched beyond their normal range, causing injury and painful symptoms.
Surgery is rarely required for whiplash treatment. Nevertheless, surgery is appropriate in instances that are severe if you have persistent neck or shoulder pain. If your state has not improved after extensive non-operative treatment, a surgery may be your best option.
Your spine surgeon will recommend the most effective surgical procedure for the harm. Make sure to ask lots of questions about the procedure so that you completely understand the way that it is done, exactly what the result will undoubtedly be, how long the recovery time is, etc. When it comes down to it, surgery is the choice alone: the surgeon can advocate it, but you possess the final say.
The type of operation is dependent upon what parts of your cervical spine happen to be injured.
Herniated or Ruptured Discs in the Neck
Throughout your injury, you may have ruptured or herniated an intervertebral disc, which is found between the vertebrae. This could create persistent arm pain, numbness, or weakness. In this case, disk removal may also be required. The surgeon removes all or a part of the damaged disc in a process called a discectomy.
After the discectomy, your physician may need to stabilize the region. Discectomies typically lead to an unstable spine, meaning that it goes in abnormal ways. That makes you more at risk for neurological harm that is serious. Then when surgeons do a discectomy, the spine often restabilizes.
The surgeon may use, to stabilize the spine:
Artificial Cervical Disc: It is a new� quite exciting and �development in spine surgery. Recently, surgeons have begun planting an artificial cervical disc following the discectomy. They’re using this instead of fusion and spinal instrumentation. The bonus is that a patient to keep normal neck motion after surgery is enabled by an artificial disk. Previously, in the event the patient had two or even more vertebrae fused, neck movement would be considerably reduced. Cervical discs are a fairly new technology; nonetheless, early results are encouraging.
Fusion and Spinal Instrumentation: This sort of back stabilization operation has been has been common for a long time. It can be performed alone or at the same time as a decompression operation. In spine stabilization, the surgeon creates an environment where the bones in your back will fuse together over time (generally over several months or longer). The surgeon uses a bone graft (generally using bone from a donor) or a biological substance (that’ll stimulate bone growth). Your surgeon may use spinal instrumentation�wires, cables, screws, rods, and plates�to increase stability and help fuse the bones. The fusion will cease motion involving the vertebrae, providing long term stability.
Spinal Stenosis in the Neck
Operation can also be needed in the event the injury causes a narrowing of the spinal canal in your neck. In this instance, a cervical corpectomy might be performed to remove a portion of the intervertebral disc and also the vertebra to reduce the pressure on nerves and the spinal cord. Your surgeon may do a laminectomy or a laminoplasty. The lamina, the bony plate that’s in the back of each vertebra is focused on by the two of those surgeries. It safeguards your spinal cord and spinal canal. The lamina may be pressing on your spinal cord, so the surgeon may make more room for the cord by removing section or all of the lamina�that’s a laminectomy.
The surgeon will re shape the lamina to form more room for your spinal cord. Plasty means “to shape.”
A cervical foraminotomy may be performed, if there is a narrowing of the space where the nerve exits the spinal canal. In this process, the foramen (the area where the nerve roots leave the spinal canal) is removed to increase the size of the nerve pathway. A A pathway that is larger causes it to be not as likely the nerve will soon be pinched or compressed.
Surgical Complications on the Neck
As with absolutely any operation, there are dangers involved with cervical spine surgery to treat whiplash symptoms. Your doctor will discuss potential risks along with you before asking you to sign a surgical consent form. Potential complications include, but aren’t limited to:
Injury to nerves, your spinal cord, esophagus, carotid artery or vocal cords
non-healing of the bony fusion (pseudoarthrosis)
failure to improve
instrumentation breakage/failure
Disease and/or bone graft site pain
pain and swelling in your leg veins (phlebitis)
blood clots in your lung
urinary problems
Really rare complications: paralysis and possibly death
Complications could cause more surgery, so again �make sure you completely understand the risks along with your operation before proceeding. The decision for surgery is yours and yours alone.
Recovering from Whiplash Surgery
Following your surgery, you’re not going to be immediately better. You will most likely be out of bed within 24 hours, and you’ll be on pain medications for 2 to 4 weeks. Subsequent to the surgery, you’ll receive instructions on how to attentively sit, rise, and stand. It is crucial that you give your body time to recover, so your physician will most likely advise that you confine your actions: in general, don’t do anything that moves your neck. While you recover, you ought to avoid heavy lifting, twisting, or contact sports.
After surgery, be watchful. Report any problems�such as increased pain, temperature, or infection�to your physician without delay.
The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal injuries and conditions. To discuss options on the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .
By Dr. Alex Jimenez
Additional Topics: Neck Pain and Auto Injury
After being involved in an automobile accident, the sheer force of the impact can often cause whiplash, a common type of neck injury resulting from the sudden, back-and-forth motion of the head against the body due to a car wreck, or other incident. Because of this, many of the complex structures found within the neck, including the spine, ligaments and muscles, can be stretched beyond their normal range, causing injury and painful symptoms.
Whiplash is an injury to the neck muscles from rapid forward and backward movement of the neck caused by a trauma (eg, an automobile accident). It can cause acute (short term) neck pain together with restricted movement in your neck.
Diagnosing a Whiplash Injury
Your spine is evaluated by the chiropractor as a whole� even if you proceed to the chiropractor complaining of neck pain following an injury. She or he will examine the complete spine because other areas of the spine could be affected (not only your neck).
The chiropractor identifies any areas of intervertebral disc injury, restricted joint movement, muscle spasm, and ligament injury. She or he may use a technique called movement and static palpation�diagnostic techniques that involve contact. Your chiropractor may also feel for tenderness, tightness, and just how well your spinal joints move.
She or he will even examine the way you walk, and take note of your posture and spinal alignment. These details will assist your back works, helping with the diagnosis process and the chiropractor understand the body’s mechanisms.
Along with the chiropractor�s assessment of your spine, he/she may order an x-ray or an MRI of your spine to evaluate any degenerative changes that may have existed before your whiplash injury. The diagnostic images and results of your neurological and physical assessment are compared to develop the best treatment plan.
Stages of Whiplash Treatment
Shortly after whiplash occurs�in the acute phase�the chiropractor will work on reducing neck inflammation using various therapy modalities (eg, ultrasound). He/she might also use gentle stretching and manual treatment techniques (eg, muscle energy therapy, a kind of extending).
The chiropractor may also recommend you apply an ice pack on your neck and/or a light neck support to make use of for a short span of time. The pain falls and also as your neck becomes inflamed, your chiropractor will perform gentle spinal manipulation or other methods to restore normal movement to the your neck’s spinal joints.
Chiropractic Care for Whiplash
Your treatment plan rides on the severity of your whiplash injury. The chiropractic technique that is most common is spinal manipulation. Some spinal manipulation techniques normally used are:
Flexion-distraction technique: This hands-on technique is a mild, non-thrusting type of spinal manipulation to help treat herniated discs with or without. Your whiplash injury may have aggravated a bulging or herniated disc. The chiropractor runs on the slow pumping action on the disk in place of direct force to the back.
Instrument-assisted manipulation: This technique is another non-throwing technique chiropractors often use. Using a specialized handheld instrument, force is applied by the chiropractor without thrusting into the backbone. This type of exploitation is useful for older patients that have a degenerative joint syndrome.
Unique spinal manipulation: The chiropractor identifies spinal joints which can be restricted or show unusual movement (called subluxations). Applying this technique, he or she will help restore movement to the joint using a gentle technique that is thrusting. This thrusting that is mild stretches soft tissue and stimulates the nervous system to restore normal movement to the spinal column.
In addition to spinal manipulation, the chiropractor could also use manual treatment to treat injured soft tissues (eg, ligaments and muscles). Some instances of manual therapies your chiropractor may use are:
Instrument-assisted soft tissue therapy: Your chiropractor may use the Graston technique, which is an instrument-assisted technique used to treat soft tissues that are injured. She or he will perform gentle continued blows utilizing the instrument over the injured area.
Manual joint stretching and resistance techniques: A good example of a manual therapy that is joint is muscle energy therapy.
Therapeutic massage: The chiropractor may perform remedial massage to relieve muscle tension.
Trigger point therapy: Your chiropractor will identify particular hypertonic (tight), agonizing points of a muscle by getting direct pressure (using her or his fingers) on these specific points to relieve muscle tension.
Your chiropractor may also use other treatments to reduce neck inflammation caused by whiplash. Examples of other treatments your chiropractor may use are:
Interferential electrical stimulation: This technique uses a low frequency electric current to simply help stimulate muscles, which may finally reduce inflammation.
Ultrasound: By raising blood circulation, ultrasound can help decrease muscle spasms, stiffness, and pain in your neck. Ultrasound does this by sending sound waves deep into muscle tissues. This creates a mild heat that increases circulation.
Treating Whiplash with Chiropractic Care
Chiropractors look at the full individual�not just the distressing difficulty. They view neck pain as unique to every patient, so they really don�t just focus on your neck pain. They highlight prevention as the key to long term health. In addition to these treatments, your chiropractor might also prescribe healing exercises to greatly help restore normal motion in your spine and reduce whiplash symptoms.
Using these chiropractic techniques, a chiropractor will help you increase your daily activities. She or he will work challenging to address any mechanical (how the back moves) or neurological (nerve-related) causes of your whiplash.
The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal injuries and conditions. To discuss options on the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .
By Dr. Alex Jimenez
Additional Topics: Neck Pain and Auto Injury
After being involved in an automobile accident, the sheer force of the impact can often cause whiplash, a common type of neck injury resulting from the sudden, back-and-forth motion of the head against the body due to a car wreck, or other incident. Because of this, many of the complex structures found within the neck, including the spine, ligaments and muscles, can be stretched beyond their normal range, causing injury and painful symptoms.
The road to NCAA Championships first goes through Austin, Texas with the start of the NCAA West Region Preliminaries on May 25-28.
Eight Miners will make their first trip to the west regional preliminary round, while eight more make a return to the regional stage.
The men�s 800m run will be the strong point for the Miners with two of the nation�s top runners competing. All-American�s Emmanuel Korir and Michael Saruni will compete at 7:35 p.mon Thursday. Korir clocked the fastest time in the nation (1:43.73). Saruni heads into the meet ranked sixth in the country with a time of 1:45.82.
Sophomore sensation Tobi Amusan makes her second consecutive trip to the regional meet competing in the 100m hurdles at 3:30 p.mon Friday. Amusan finished runner up at last year�s NCAA Championships with a wind-aided time of 12.79. The Nigerian native qualified with a time of 12.67 ranking her second in the region. She was named the C-USA Female Performer of the Meet after leading the women�s team to its first outdoor title in program history with 24.5 points.
Thursday will see sophomore Karol Koncos in the men�s hammer throw starting at 1:30 p.m. MT. Koncos registered a personal best of 64.29m (210-11) in the hammer garnering a bronze medal at the Conference USA Championships. The Slovakian native ranks 18th overall in the west region.
In the women�s 400m hurdles, Yanique Bennett and Dreshanae Rolle will take the track at 2:30 p.mon Thursday. In her final year as a Miner, Bennett has accumulated five top-three finishes this season. The senior claimed gold at the conference meet with a season-best time of 58.52 and ranks 17th in the region. Rolle clocked a personal best of 1:00.19 earlier this year at the Brutus Hamilton Challenge.
Freshman Linda Cheruiyot will compete in the 1,500m run at 4:30 p.m. Cheruiyot won bronze at the conference meet. She clocked a personal-best 4:23.60 at the Brutus Hamilton meet to qualify for the regional meet.
Cosmas Boit and Jonah Koech will compete in the men�s 1,500m run on Thursday at 5:00 p.m. The senior scored four points at the C-USA meet finishing in fifth place. He had an outstanding performance at the Texas Relays capturing silver with a time of 3:49.90. Boit ran a season-best 3:49.46 at the UTEP Springtime in the first outdoor meet of the season.
Koech ranks seventh in the region with a qualifying time of 3:42.52. The sophomore captured gold at the C-USA Championships in the 1,500m and took home fifth place in the 800m.
Two seniors will compete in the first round of the women�s 400m. Ada Benjamin and Florence Uwakwe will take the track at 6:20 p.m. Benjamin clocked a personal best of 52.76 in the 400m when she took home silver at the C-USA Championships, where she ranks 14th in the region.
Uwakwe notched a bronze medal in the 400m and silver in the 4x400m relay. Last year, the senior finished 12th overall at the NCAA preliminaries in the 400m.
Asa Guevara will take the track in the men�s 400m at 6:45 p.m. The junior competed last year in the 100m and 200m at the regional meet. He helped both the 4x100m relay and the 4x400m relay team finish fourth and second, respectively.
Making her first appearance at the regional meet in the 800m run, Lilian Koech will compete at 7:10 p.m.� The sophomore heads into the preliminary race ranked sixth in the region. She helped the women�s team claim their first ever outdoor conference title by claiming silver in the 1,500m and 800m run.
Rounding out Thursday�s action will be Winny Koech in the women�s 800m run. The sophomore makes her first trip to the regional meet with at time of 33:51.31 posted at the Mt. SAC Relays, ranking her 16th in the region.
Three Miners will compete on Friday, starting with the women�s discus throw at 11:00 a.m. Senior Samantha Hall makes her third trip to the regional meet, during the 2015 season Hall qualified to the NCAA Championships after placing third at the regional meet. The senior qualified with a season-best mark of 55.17m ranking her 12th in the region.
Ending Friday�s action in the men�s 3,000m steeplechase at 8:00 p.m. will be Daniel Cheruiyot. The sophomore qualified for his first regional meet with a time of 8:53.68 registered at the C-USA Championships crossing the finish line in second place.
In order to advance to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore., an athlete must finish in the top 12 at the preliminaries.
For live updates and breaking news be sure to follow @UTEPTrack on Twitter and uteptrack on Instagram.
The Schroth method can help control scoliosis, a spinal condition with little medical advice available for patients to know how to help themselves, aside from wearing a scoliosis brace. On the contrary of popular belief, a proper program utilizing the Schroth method exercises can ultimately help people achieve spinal balance, providing them with an increased grade of control regarding a patient’s scoliosis.
Careful instruction from a qualified and experienced healthcare professional who specialized in the Schroth method for scoliosis can empower a scoliosis patient in multiple ways. Most importantly, one-to-one training between a chiropractor or physical therapist and a patient helps properly educate the individual on the most effective ways to counteract the abnormal curvature of their spine.
Finding Relief for Scoliosis
The Schroth method exercises alone aren’t enough to provide relief from scoliosis and its associated symptoms, altering the way an individual engages in their daily activities can also help ease the progression of the spinal condition. As the patient, learning which Schroth method exercises are recommended for each specific curvature of the spine and practicing curve-pattern-specific breathing exercises can be beneficial for the overall health of the spine. There is an additional empowering element, however, in learning what not to do to prevent the scoliosis from advancing.
When a child or adult follows the correct Schroth method exercises from a qualified and experienced healthcare professional, including multi-part movements combined with breathing to promote spinal stabilization to strengthen the spinal musculature, feeling relief from their symptoms as well as seeing the improvement in the alignment of the spine can be empowering and motivating. The Schroth method can be an effective treatment for scoliosis.
Moreover, its essential for the patient with scoliosis to consult an experienced and qualified healthcare professional who understands the complex anatomy of a spine with scoliosis and its effects on the rest of the body. Chiropractors, physical therapists, and other healthcare specialists who focus on spinal complications, such as scoliosis, should also be capable of spending as much time as necessary to explain the bends, twists, curves and effects of an individual’s scoliosis on the rest of their body. Make sure to seek the proper treatment for your scoliosis or other spinal issue.
Scoliosis Assistance for Children and Adults
From a parental perspective, when a child is diagnosed with scoliosis, or simply if the adult is diagnosed with the spinal condition, its common for them to have a variety of questions regarding their complication. From, which is the proper posture to avoid the progression of scoliosis and whether the bending, twisting and collapsing of the spine with each movement is affecting the scoliosis, to, what are the safest, most effective treatments available for scoliosis, these common questions can be answered accordingly by an experienced and qualified healthcare professional. Furthermore, once a child, or adult, has been diagnosed with scoliosis, its fundamental for them to seek immediate medical attention in order to avoid further complications from the spinal condition, such as the threat of spinal fusion resulting in surgery. The sooner scoliosis is treated, the better for the patient.
When considering the Schroth method for scoliosis, utilizing a specialized exercise program for a child or adult with scoliosis, there’s one final consideration the patient, and parents alike, must become aware of, treatment for scoliosis may be a lifetime commitment. Scoliosis doesn’t end with skeletal maturity. Children become adults and adults will eventually begin to experience the natural degeneration of their spine, as well as other structures in their body, which may lead to scoliosis and other spinal complications. It’s essential for patients to continue seeking regular medical care from a qualified and experienced chiropractor, physical therapist, or other healthcare professional, regarding their scoliosis.
The Schroth method and its specific exercises are for life and after participation in a comprehensive program, the patient will have the necessary skills and tools needed to manage their scoliosis and other similar spinal issues. This empowering treatment option can help ultimately avoid the progression of scoliosis, providing overall health and wellness for a lifetime to come.
The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal injuries and conditions. To discuss options on the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .
By Dr. Alex Jimenez
Additional Topics: Neck Pain and Auto Injury
After being involved in an automobile accident, the sheer force of the impact can often cause whiplash, a common type of neck injury resulting from the sudden, back-and-forth motion of the head against the body due to a car wreck, or other incident. Because of this, many of the complex structures found within the neck, including the spine, ligaments and muscles, can be stretched beyond their normal range, causing injury and painful symptoms.
Physical therapy is a highly effective treatment option for whiplash, especially when coupled with other treatments and medicines, such as bracing. With whiplash, the soft tissues in your neck become damaged or injured, but a physical therapist can help restore the individual’s original movement and proper function of those tissues.
Physical therapy can include both passive and active treatments. Passive treatments help unwind your body as well as you. As you don’t have to actively participate, they are called passive. Most likely, you’re experiencing severe pain because of whiplash, which means you will probably start as your body heals with passive treatments and/or adapts to the pain. But the aim of physical therapy would be to get into active treatments. All these are in order for your spine has better support healing exercises that reinforce your body.
Passive Treatments for Whiplash
Deep Tissue Massage: Muscle tension that may grow as a consequence of whiplash is targeted by this technique. The therapist uses direct pressure and friction to try and release the tension in your soft tissues (ligaments, tendons, muscles). This would help them heal quicker.
Hot and Cold Therapies: Through the use of heat, the physical therapist seeks to get more blood to the target area because more oxygen is brought by an increased blood circulation and nutrients to that particular place. Blood can also be needed to remove waste byproducts created by muscle spasms, plus additionally, it helps curing.
Circulation slows, helping lessen pain, muscle spasms, and inflammation. Your physical therapist will switch between hot and cold therapies.
(When you first injure yourself�either in a car crash or in a different injury-inducing event�you can make use of this hot and cold treatment technique at home. Use ice first to bring the inflammation down, and after the first 24 to 48 hours, you can change between ice and heat. The heat can help relax tense muscles, and it will improve circulation to the region that is injured. Increased circulation promotes faster healing. As a reminder, never place ice or heat directly on your own skin�wrap it in a towel, as an example.)
Ultrasound: By raising blood circulation, an ultrasound helps reduce muscle spasms, cramping, swelling, stiffness, and pain. It will this by developing a gentle heat that improves circulation, sending sound waves into your muscle tissues and healing.
Active Treatments for Whiplash
In the active portion of physical therapy, your therapist will teach you various exercises to work on your own strength and range of movement (how easily your joints move). Your physical therapy program is individualized, taking into account your wellbeing and history. Your exercises may not be acceptable for another individual with whiplash and neck pain.
If necessary, you’ll learn how to correct your posture and integrate ergonomic principles into your daily actions. This pose work must help you since youwill have the ability to prevent other types of neck pain that grow from daily living, even once you recover from whiplash.
Overall, the purpose of physical therapy for whiplash patients will be to help increase blood circulation, reduce muscle spasms, and encourage healing of the neck tissues.
The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal injuries and conditions. To discuss options on the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .
By Dr. Alex Jimenez
Additional Topics: Neck Pain and Auto Injury
After being involved in an automobile accident, the sheer force of the impact can often cause whiplash, a common type of neck injury resulting from the sudden, back-and-forth motion of the head against the body due to a car wreck, or other incident. Because of this, many of the complex structures found within the neck, including the spine, ligaments and muscles, can be stretched beyond their normal range, causing injury and painful symptoms.
Conservative treatment for whiplash includes immobilizing the patient’s neck in a well-fitting soft cervical collar; use of pain, anti inflammatory, and muscle relaxant drugs; and physical therapy.
Physical therapy (PT) helps to reduce muscle spasms, increase circulation, and encourage healing. PT can range from the following modalities: damp heat, ice, ultrasound, electric stimulation, and exercise to revive range of movement and build strength. Cervical traction might be included to the treatment strategy if symptoms persist. A cervical traction apparatus that was portable can be used at office or home. Trigger point injections including a local anesthetic may help relieve pain and tenderness.
If symptoms continue for more than 6 weeks, or new symptoms appear the patient’s condition is re evaluated. Extension injuries that are severe can damage the intervertebral discs included. Surgical intervention may in rare cases be required, when an intervertebral disc is influenced.
Surgical Interventions for Whiplash
Rarely does operation is required by the treatment of whiplash. Surgical intervention is considered in acute cases such as scapular, those presenting consistent neck or shoulder pain. The pain may indicate a rip within an intervertebral disc. Certainly one of these procedures could be performed, when intervertebral disc removal is required:
Discectomy is the surgical removal of the entire piquing intervertebral disc or part.
Microdiscectomy incorporates the usage of a microscope to magnify the surgical field during disc removal.
Percutaneous surgical procedures enable disc removal via a small incision in the trunk. All these are generally not used in the cervical spine (neck) but have been used in the low back. Automated Percutaneous Discectomy is done under radiologic control while a cannula (hollow tube) having a rotating blade breaks up the disk. The disk fragments are subsequently removed by aspiration.
Spinal Instrumentation and Fusion provides long-term stability once the target disk is removed. These processes solidify and join the degree where an intervertebral disc has been damaged or removed. Instrumentation, the employment of medically constructed hardware including rods and screws, can be combined with Spinal fusion (arthrodesis) to permanently join two or more vertebrae.
Whiplash Recovery
Throughout the recovery phase, the aim is really to help the patient resume normal activities at their pre-injury level.
The guidelines set forth by the spinal doctor and/or physical therapist should be followed. A house exercise plan is a key to rebuilding strength and increasing range of movement. It might be essential to continue physical therapy and modalities (e.g. damp heat) for a period of time.
Post operative pain or discomfort should be anticipated. Patient Controlled Analgesia (PCA) enables the patient to control their pain without hospital staff assist. PCA is eventually replaced by oral drug.
The individual could be encouraged to get up and walk the following day. Activity improves healing and circulation.
Physical therapy is added post-operatively empowering the individual to develop flexibility, strength, and increase range of motion. Physical therapy is generally continued on an outpatient basis for an amount of time. Furthermore, the therapist provides the patient with a customized home exercise program.
Prior to release in the hospital, the patient is given written directions and prescriptions for essential drugs. The individual ‘s care remains during follow-up visits with their spinal surgeon.
The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic and spinal injuries and conditions. To discuss options on the subject matter, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .
By Dr. Alex Jimenez
Additional Topics: Neck Pain and Auto Injury
After being involved in an automobile accident, the sheer force of the impact can often cause whiplash, a common type of neck injury resulting from the sudden, back-and-forth motion of the head against the body due to a car wreck, or other incident. Because of this, many of the complex structures found within the neck, including the spine, ligaments and muscles, can be stretched beyond their normal range, causing injury and painful symptoms.
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