Getting hurt is as much a part of life as breathing or eating: everyone does it at some point. Even if your parents were the type to wrap you in bubble wrap and strap a helmet on you for daily walks, chances are you’ve at least stubbed your toe or accidentally bitten your tongue. Fortunately, as with all life on this planet, humans are pretty good at healing. Our blood is self-clotting in order to keep us from bleeding out as easily, our bones can stitch themselves back together, and even our spit contains antimicrobial healing agents.

With all this being said, when you sustain an injury, why wouldn’t you do everything you could to help your body heal instead of just masking the symptoms of your injury? Here at Greater Life Chiropractic, this is what we hope to accomplish: natural healing through natural means.

Types of Injuries

Injuries can come in many forms. Typically, when people think of injuries worth seeing a chiropractor for, they imagine traumatic injuries such as whiplash from automobile accidents, slip and fall injuries, or maybe sports injuries. However, the most common types of injuries that plague Americans today fall into the category of “overuse injuries.”

Even if you don’t engage in intensive sports or exercise, you should be aware of the risks of overuse injuries. Overuse injuries aren’t always caused by major, repetitive motions like twisting and leaping; they can also be caused by small, everyday activities like typing without paying attention to ergonomics or good posture. In fact, there are a wide array of overuse injuries associated with and named after gamer culture. Any action that is repeated on a regular basis might produce pain, discomfort, or dysfunction if you don’t protect your health by taking breaks and stretching.

How Your Body Heals

The process through which wounds heal is fairly straightforward and can be summarized in four steps: clotting, inflammation, rebuilding, and strengthening. If you’re bleeding, the platelets in your blood will clot and scab over to stop it. After the wound has been sealed, the blood vessels can open slightly to allow fresh nutrients and oxygen into the wound for healing, and this manifests as inflammation in the area. Once enough oxygen and nutrients enter the area, the repair process begins. Even after the wound is scarred over, this process of rebuilding and strengthening can continue for years.

How Chiropractic Can Help

Even if you’re not seeking relief from a serious back injury or if you’re one of the lucky few out there not experiencing back pain in some way, chiropractors like Dr. Grant Lisetor can still help you heal. Subluxations don’t always cause pain, but they will always impede nerve pathways, which can slow down the healing process and wreak havoc on the function of the nervous system and other bodily systems. A good chiropractic adjustment can not only correct problems in your spine, but throughout your whole body as well. To learn more, contact us at our office in Charlotte, NC. Consider becoming a practice member so we can help you discover your body’s true potential.

Sources

Abdullah, Muna A., et al. “Role of Saliva in Healing Process of Cutaneous Wounds.” http://impactfactor.org/PDF/IJDDT/11/IJDDT,Vol11,Issue3,Article60.pdf

Sant, Kurstein, and Kirill Micallef Stafrace. “Upper Limb Injuries Secondary to Overuse in the Esports Community. Is this a rising epidemic?” https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kurstein-Sant-2/publication/357605978_Upper_Limb_Injuries_Secondary_to_Overuse_in_the_Esports_Community_Is_this_a_rising_epidemic/links/61d61cceb8305f7c4b2584d7/Upper-Limb-Injuries-Secondary-to-Overuse-in-the-Esports-Community-Is-this-a-rising-epidemic.pdf