East Bay Chiropractic Wellness P.C.

Wrist

Chiropractic Care for Ski Injuries

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Every year, more than half a million Americans are injured while skiing or snowboarding. After hitting the slopes during winter break, many of us have returned from our vacation with aches and pains, injured joints, pulled muscles, or even broken bones.

If you have sustained a skiing injury, or if you’re simply sore from a holiday ski trip, chiropractic care can help you feel and heal better.

Is Skiing Hard on Your Body?

Skiing can be a fantastic workout, improving strength, balance, coordination, endurance, and heart health. However, it can also take a toll on your body, especially if you’re a novice skier or venture onto rugged terrain. The repetitive stress and physical demands can strain your knees, ankles, and lower back, often leading to various injuries.

What Is the Most Common Injury While Skiing?

Skiing injuries can range from mild soreness to severe joint or bone damage. Some of the most frequent injuries experienced by skiers include:

Knee Injuries

  • Nearly half of all reported ski-related injuries involve the knees like ACL and MCL tears along with meniscus damage.

Other Common Injuries

  • Fractures: Broken legs from falls or collisions.
  • Spinal Injuries: Whiplash or other spinal issues from sudden stops or collisions.
  • Wrist Injuries: Fractures or sprains from falls.
  • Skier’s Thumb: Torn thumb ligaments from falling while holding a ski pole.

Is Snowboarding Hard on Your Body?

Like skiing, snowboarding can be a fun way to stay fit. However, inexperience, improper form, or overly challenging slopes can strain your joints and muscles, increasing the risk of injury. As with any sport, it’s important to warm up first and wear the appropriate protection equipment to prevent injuries.

What Is the Most Common Snowboarding Injury?

Snowboarding presents its own set of injury risks. Here are some of the most common injuries and their causes:

Wrist Fractures

  • Wrist fractures account for nearly a quarter of all snowboarding injuries due to falls with arms extended.

Other Frequent Injuries

  • Ankle Strain or Fracture: Caused by the lack of stabilization in the snowboarding boots.
  • Shoulder Dislocations: Resulting from falling with outstretched arms.
  • Knee Injuries: Occurring during falls or hard landings after jumps.

Both skiing and snowboarding can result in serious head injuries, making protective headgear and safety precautions essential.

Can a Chiropractor Help with Sports Injury?

Chiropractic care is a noninvasive, medication-free way to help you heal faster and better from sports injuries. After an injury on the slopes, chiropractic care can:

  • Reduce pain and inflammation.
  • Improve your range of motion.
  • Prevent tight scar tissue formation.
  • Enhance future athletic performance.

Chiropractic adjustments also ensure proper body alignment, improving posture, coordination, flexibility, and overall mobility.

Is Graston® Useful in Treating Injuries from Skiing?

The Graston Technique® is a treatment method used to break up fascial adhesions that can result from many types of ski injuries. The Graston® Technique alleviates aches and pains by releasing tight muscles, enhancing blood flow, reducing inflammation, and promoting healing.

We also offer traditional spinal adjustments, physical therapy, massage therapy, and other treatment modalities to provide a holistic approach to healing after skiing or snowboarding.

Winter Sports Injury? Contact Us Today to Schedule an Appointment

For more than three decades, East Bay Chiropractic Wellness in Bellmore, NY, has provided chiropractic services for skiers and other athletes. Don’t let winter sports injuries hold you back! Contact East Bay Chiropractic Wellness today to start your recovery journey.

Can the Graston Technique® Treat Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

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Carpal tunnel syndrome is one of the most common causes of hand pain, with an estimated 8 million Americans suffering from the condition each year. Overuse of muscles and tendons in the wrist causes swelling or thickening in the narrow passageway on the palm side of the hand, known as the “carpal tunnel.” The tendons of the hand and fingers, as well as the median nerve, pass through this narrow tube composed of bone and ligament. When swelling occurs, it entraps the median nerve, causing weakness, numbness, “pins and needles” sensations, pain, burning, or tingling in the hands and fingers. Carpal tunnel syndrome can be incredibly uncomfortable and often interferes with one’s ability to do daily tasks.

Can You Cure Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

The prognosis for carpal tunnel syndrome varies from patient to patient. It is a highly treatable condition, and many individuals find permanent relief. It can be addressed with various pain management techniques, physical therapy, lifestyle modifications, and, in some cases, surgery.

What Is the Fastest Way to Get Rid of Carpal Tunnel?

Managing carpal tunnel syndrome is rarely a quick fix, but there are actions you can take to reduce immediate discomfort and create the right conditions for optimal healing. Icing your wrist for 10-15 minutes several times per day reduces pain and inflammation. Wearing a wrist splint minimizes pressure on irritated nerves and limits motions that aggravate carpal tunnel pain.

Chiropractic care offers a variety of treatments for carpal tunnel syndrome. The Graston Technique® has proven particularly effective at releasing the median nerve and reducing carpal tunnel pain.

Does Graston® Help Carpal Tunnel?

The Graston Technique® addresses carpal tunnel syndrome without pain medication or surgical intervention. Instead, it uses myofascial release to break up adhesions in the wrist. We use patented, precision instruments to locate injured soft tissue, which we then manipulate to break down knots and adhesions. This decreases inflammation and speeds healing.

Using the Graston Technique® also improves mobility and muscle tone, which reduces the irritation of the tendon and, by extension, the nerve, in the carpal tunnel. We may also recommend exercises and movement modifications to supplement Graston Technique® therapy.

Can Graston Technique® Treat Hand Issues/Injuries?

In addition to carpal tunnel syndrome, the Graston Technique® can treat hand, thumb, and wrist pain unrelated to carpal tunnel syndrome. It may help with tendonitis, arthritis, and nerve pain resulting from anatomical factors, injury, and overuse.

Your Graston Technique® Specialist for Hand and Wrist Issues

If you are experiencing hand or wrist issues like carpal tunnel syndrome, the East Bay Chiropractic Wellness team can create a holistic treatment plan to increase your comfort and help you return to your normal routine. As a certified Graston Technique® Specialist (GST) who was the first Long Island chiropractor to be certified in the use of the technique, and with more than 35 years of experience, you’ll be in good hands with us. Contact us online, or call (516) 679-2225 for an appointment or to learn more about how we can help you.