You don’t have to be Wile E. Coyote with his latest mail order from Acme to suffer a personal injury. Falling over something left in the way, slipping on wet floors, tripping over an uneven sidewalk―these can all lead to serious injuries that require treatment.
Slips and falls can vary in severity and the degree of injury can be dependant on a person’s health and age. Healthier people with more muscle mass may be better equipped to handle a fall than someone who is not. As we age, our muscles may shrink and our bones may become more brittle, making a slip and fall a potentially serious, even life-threatening, injury. According to the National Floor Safety Institute, 1 out of every 3 people over the age of 65 will experience a fall, and half of those hospitalized for hip fractures are unable to return home or live independently.
Types of Injuries From Slips and Falls
Soft tissue injuries. These can be sprains, strains, and tears of muscles, ligaments, and tendons.
Fractures. Broken bones can happen as you try to brace yourself or you can experience compression fractures if you land on your tailbone.
Head injuries. A concussion can occur if your head hits an object with blunt force, such as hitting your head on the floor, and with enough force, serious head injuries can occur.
Whiplash. This doesn’t only happen in rear-end car accidents; whiplash can happen anytime your head or body accelerates and then stops abruptly, like when your body hits the floor during a fall.
Knee injuries. Knee injuries usually happen when you fall forward and instinctively break your fall by landing on your hands and knees. Besides kneecap and bone fractures, you could experience injuries to the soft tissues as well.
Spinal injuries. In any fall, you can damage the vertebrae and cause misalignment to your spine.
Hip injuries. Hip injuries can happen to anyone in a fall, but most often happen to seniors.
Elbow injuries. Elbow injuries happen in falls, forward or back, when you try to catch or brace yourself. Like knee injuries, they can result in fractures or soft tissue injury.
Chiropractic Care
Unlike primary care physicians or emergency room doctors, chiropractors offer different therapies that can help you restore your normal function after a fall without the use of potentially dangerous and addictive painkillers. These only mask the problem where chiropractic treatments get to the root of it and treat the source.
Often, injuries can go undetected and their symptoms may not show up for days or even weeks, but a chiropractor is trained in finding these injuries that you may not know you have. In treatment, the chiropractor will make adjustments to your spine and the affected areas to fix any misalignments that will relieve pain and pressure, and when the spine is back in alignment, the body can better heal its injuries.
To prevent these types of injuries, being cautious and alert is a good place to start. It’s also important to keep your body as healthy as possible and going for a walk daily can go a long way with preventing slips and falls by keeping your body strong.
Nobody likes to fall and let’s face it, falling can be downright embarrassing, but you can’t pretend it didn’t happen. Your body knows that it did. If left untreated, the pain could worsen and become a chronic problem.
If you’ve taken a tumble, North County Pain Relief can help. Dr. Adam Elsey will diagnose any problem you may have as a result of your fall and come up with a comprehensive treatment plan that will help relieve your pain and restore your mobility. Slips and falls can happen anywhere―on the job, in a store, or other business and can be due to neglect or carelessness and may require documentation if there is legal action. Our professional staff will help you with any documentation you need to file a claim to help pay for your treatment. Call North County Pain Relief today at (314)731-4201.
