If you’re injured, seeking medical care is the first thing you need to do to protect your health. Even minor injuries can have long-term implications for your health and your ability to carry on your daily activities. That’s true even when an injury doesn’t cause severe symptoms right away.

Of course, seeking medical care from a traditional care provider usually means you’ll receive a lot of medication to relieve discomfort or inflammation, and depending on the type of injury you have, surgery might even be recommended. While there are times when medicine or surgery are appropriate, in most cases, they shouldn’t be the first course of action. Not only are these approaches costly, but they’re often unnecessary, at least right away.

The problem with a “medicine-first” approach

Sure, medicine can do a great job at relieving pain. But the problem is, most medicines aren’t designed to treat the cause of pain. Instead, they’re designed to mask pain by “short-circuiting” pain responses. So even though you might feel less discomfort, the problem that’s causing the pain can still be there. Worse, the medicine might be masking other problems that can wind up becoming more serious without proper care.

Second, many pain medicines are addictive, and they’re also costly. Depending on the type of injury you have, your doctor might prescribe medicine for a long time, and that means your body is getting a lot of drugs that it has to process. Long-term use of medication can increase the likelihood you’ll become dependent on that drug, and it can also take a toll on your overall health (not to mention the effect on your pocketbook).

And finally, when you start taking a lot of medication right after an injury, you don’t allow your body the chance to heal itself. Your body has a huge capacity for natural healing, as long as it gets the medical support it needs to carry on those healing processes.

Chiropractic care: The first step in healing

Chiropractors are an excellent choice when it comes to providing medical care after an injury. At Pro Rehab, our team starts by carefully evaluating your injuries and your medical history so we can develop a “plan of action” based on your specific needs. At every step of care, you’ll be provided with the treatment you need to help you relieve pain and other symptoms while restoring your health and mobility.

Because so many injuries involve the musculoskeletal system and nerves, treatment often begins with a spinal adjustment. Nerve impingement or compression is often a major cause of post-injury discomfort. During your adjustment, Dr. Sheehan uses special hands-on techniques to gently manipulate your spine, coaxing the bones, muscles, and other components of your spine back into place so nerve compressions are relieved. Depending on your needs, he may also use the PulStar®, a state-of-the-art technology system designed to measure responses in your spine so your adjustments and other treatments can be calibrated for your needs.

Spinal adjustment and other chiropractic techniques also stimulate circulation in the injured area, helping your body deliver an “extra dose” of the nutrients, oxygen, and fluids necessary for natural healing. In addition to correcting specific issues associated with your injury, chiropractic treatments help “optimize” your body’s recovery processes so it’s better able to heal itself.

Long-term relief

In addition to chiropractic treatments, Pro Rehab Middletown offers comprehensive rehabilitation services to help you regain normal, pain-free range of motion after an accident or other injury. As with the chiropractic services we offer, your rehabilitation program will be tailored to your needs, evolving over the course of your treatment to help you stay on the path toward complete healing. Rehab treatments might include gentle stretching, therapeutic exercises, massage, compression therapy, traction, or other innovative approaches to care to help you feel your best without relying on prolonged use of medications. Your rehab program will be based not only on your injuries but also on your lifestyle and long-term goals.

Finally, because Pro Rehab chiropractors are trained to recognize injuries in every stage of development, they can identify problems even before they start to cause noticeable symptoms. That’s especially important when treating accident injuries since so many accidents can cause nerve damage that might not cause serious issues for weeks or even months after the accident occurs. Seeing a chiropractor is a great way to give your body a “head start” on resolving these injuries so pain and debility can be prevented.

If you’ve been injured, Pro Rehab can help you get the care you need to start feeling better. Book your appointment online today.