Chiropractic Treatment for Sprains & Strain in Vaughan

Are you currently experiencing stress or pain around a certain joint? Have you landed awkwardly causing your ankle to twist? Are you physically active and feel discomfort on your wrist or knee? Do you feel that your muscles are being overworked and are cramping? These can be signs of a sprain or strain, and if left untreated it can cause further complication and inflammation around the joints and lead to postural compensation issues.

A sprain is when the ligaments, the bands of fibrous connective tissue that connect two bones together, get stretched too far or torn. A strain is when the muscle or tendon, which is the tissue that connects muscles to bones, gets injured. These are common injuries that may arise from an athletic injury, lifting heavy weights with improper form, or accidentally falling or slipping. We want to be able to treat these pains immediately, as we are constantly working our bodies. To avoid prolonged inflammation in the area of injury, seeing a Chiropractor can help accelerate the healing process and restore overall motion in the spine and the rest of the body.

What are symptoms of sprain/strain?

The level of pain or discomfort can vary depending on the patient’s specific injury which determines how severe the ligaments or tendons are damaged.

Common symptoms of sprain include:

• Pain, swelling or bruising over the affected joint/ligament
• “Popping” or cracking sounds during the time of injury
• Limited ability to move the affected joint
• Stuck joint or limited range of motion

Common symptoms of strain include:

• Muscle spasms
• pain/swelling/tenderness over the affected muscle or joint
• Limited flexibility/range of motion
• Pain or redness over the affected joint

What causes sprain/strain?

Often, sprains can stem from:

• Sports injuries, such as rolling your ankle while jumping to catch a basketball
• Falling and landing awkwardly
• Walking on uneven pavements and rolling your ankle
• Wearing improper footwear
• Twisting a knee from running or walking
• Constant use of a joint through repetitive motion 
• Having a physically demanding job
• Any activity that involves performing repetitive motions, such as lifting weights

Our ligaments help hold and stabilize our bones together so that we have stable mobility and prevent our bones from dislocating. Think of a rope or band holding two bones together. Those are our ligaments, and we have around 900 of them. Ligaments vary in size and shape, depending on where they are located. When they are injured, they undergo a process of: inflammation, production of scar tissue, then remodeling of the scar so that they heal. The faster these sprains are treated, the easier it will be for cells to regenerate and recover the affected area.

Strains on the other hand, can come from:

• Too much physical activity of the body
• Not stretching or warming up before exercising
• Lack of flexibility, making your muscles and fibers tighter and prone to strains
• Overexerting your muscles and not allowing a period of recovery
• Throwing something heavy with an awkward body position

It is important to listen to our bodies when something hurts, as “working through the pain” can sometimes lead to further injury that might take longer to heal. When we have a strain injury, our muscle fibers become torn. Depending on the severity of the injury, the muscle fibers can affect your range of motion, or severe strains cause the muscle to completely rupture, separating what we call the tendon and the muscle belly. Similar to ligaments, our muscle fibers resemble bands that are elastic and super flexible, and if they are being overused by doing the same motions, these bands can stretch under intense pressure and will tear.

How does Chiropractic Care benefit patients with sprain/strain?

Chiropractic care is essential for all areas of the body to work at its optimal range. Chiropractors will take a look at the injured site and assess the joints and tissues around the joints. Proper adjustment of the spine will not only align the spine & posture but allow proper nerve flow to nearby tissues such as ligaments, tendons, and muscles and allow internal healing to occur. Once the spine and joints in our body have improved motion, the recovery process of those regions can be more comfortable. Additionally, Chiropractic care helps with reducing inflammation and swelling. Depending on each patient’s pain and concerns, the Chiropractor will adjust certain segments of the spine that send signals to the nervous system and therefore promote blood flow to the injured area through a natural healing process. Here at Shakti Chiro, Dr. Rogini may also suggest to patients some exercises that target the area of pain, to help develop muscle strength and reduce injuries in the future. 

Our goal here is to effectively use our body’s natural healing processes to lessen the pain, swelling, and misalignments. Of course, every patient is different and the intensity of their injury varies based on their experiences. But don’t worry, Dr. Rogini will take a look at your injury, your medical history and past experiences to detect the root cause of your pains and put you in a specialized treatment plan to help guide you to a well-rounded healing process!

How holistic Chiropractic care can help your sprain/strain?

Holistic Chiropractors are passionate in educating their patients on how they can promote total-body healing by understanding the root cause of the problem instead of just alleviating the symptoms. Instead of having to rely on medications that temporarily reduce the pain, Chiropractors can help restore motion and alignment in the musculoskeletal system by performing spinal adjustments and soft-tissue therapy. When the spine is able to send proper signals to the nervous system, it will send proper signals to the rest of the body such as the immune system, to help enhance blood flow into the affected area and regenerate new cells in the spine and joints for pain relief and improved function. Dr. Rogini may also recommend massages or stretches as well as heat and cold therapy to apply to the affected area so that the swelling goes down, and to help supplement your recovery process. 

As we age, our bodies may or may not experience pain, but just because you are asymptomatic does not mean you are subluxation free. With holistic Chiropractors like Dr. Rogini, she can assess your body to see which areas need care, to help improve your posture, reduce stress levels and release muscle tension. Our bodies are connected and work as a whole to function optimally, similar to how different parts of a car are needed to turn on and drive. Make an appointment with Dr. Rogini to start your path to total-body wellness and level up your lifestyle!