Even if you're careful, injuries can still occur. People commonly sustain injuries while playing sports, doing physical jobs, or even while driving their cars. If you're involved in an accident that causes physical harm, your first step is visiting the doctor. However, even after your acute injuries have been treated, you may be left with lingering effects from your accident. That's where injury rehab comes in. Injury rehab will help you strengthen your body again. Here are four techniques that may be used to help you at an injury rehab clinic:
1. Chiropractic Care
Your spine is one of the most important parts of your body. It contains many nerve endings, and spinal injuries can seriously compromise your bodily functions. Even minor injuries can cause damage to your spine. Misaligned spines are the cause of a lot of back and neck pain. Injury rehab clinics employ chiropractors who can assess your spinal health. If they detect any misalignment, they will gently manipulate your spine into a more neutral position. This can reduce or eliminate your reliance on pain medication in some cases.
2. Massage Therapy
Chronic pain sometimes follows injury. When you feel pain, your body's natural inclination is to tense up. Unfortunately, this can lead to more pain, which can become a negative cycle. Massage therapy can loosen tight muscles, which will encourage your whole body to relax. Massage is a valuable component of injury rehab. Unlike spa massages, whose primary goal is relaxation, therapeutic massage is meant to promote healing in your injured body part.
3. Physical Therapy
Physical therapy is another important component of injury rehab. PT consists of strengthening exercises which will help you stabilize and stretch the muscles affected by your injury. Strong muscles are less prone to repeated injury, so these exercises can also have a preventative component. You will be instructed to exercise under the watchful eye of a physical therapist. Their exercises will be carefully tailored to suit your abilities. At times, PT might be difficult or uncomfortable, but your physical therapist will avoid asking you to do anything that would cause actual pain or injury.
4. Pain Management
Pain management is an important part of your recovery. More extensive injuries may cause you pain until your body has completely healed. In the meantime, a pain management specialist can prescribe medication to help you feel better. Since addiction is a concern with strong painkillers, your progress will be carefully monitored, and you will be weaned off the medication as soon as it's reasonable to do so.
