How A Fall On The Ice Messes Up Your Back And Hips But Saves Your Head
by Charlie Berry
Slipping and falling on ice in the winter is a pretty common occurrence. Unless you live in a part of the country where there has never been any ice, you have probably had this painful experience at least once. What you may not know is that falling on ice messes with your body's alignment, and causes back problems too. A chiropractor will always ask about slip and fall accidents, as well as any other kind of trauma because these accidents all affect your back, spine and alignment. Here is how that occurs.
Landing on Your Hips
With every slip and fall on ice you have, the first part of your body to make contact with the sidewalk or other, ice-covered, hard surface is your derriere. You have a bottom with lots of fat padding so that when you land your bones are protected. However, that does not mean that the jarring motion of your landing does not affect your body.
On the contrary, when your hips and buttocks receive that kind of a blow, it can torque your hips out of alignment with your spine. The applied force of the fall shoves your hips in one direction or another, depending which hip lands first. You may notice more pain in one hip or buttock than the other, and then you know which side hit the pavement before the other.
Landing on Your Back
The second part of your body to hit the ground is always your back. In response to a fall, your spine immediately curls forward in an attempt to protect the most important part of you--your skull/head. Your spine curves toward your front so that your head does not smack the pavement and you do not get a concussion or brain damage. As a result, your back takes up the remaining force of the fall, putting small cracks in your vertebrae and causing slippage or hernias of the vertebral discs. If you do not see a chiropractor and "just shake it off." you could have much more severe pain and problems with your back later on.
Visiting the Chiropractor after a Fall
You should, as soon as you are able, visit a chiropractor after your fall. He or she will take x-rays and measurements of your alignment, hips and spine to see if and how much damage you incurred from the fall. Then the chiropractor will offer a treatment plan to rid you of pain and fix the damage.
For more information, you will want to contact a company such as North Pole Chiropractic.
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About Me
I used to be skeptical about chiropractic healing. However, that was before I tried it for myself. I was in an accident that did serious damage to my back. I followed all of the doctor’s recommendations, did my physical therapy, and still didn’t feel any better. That was when I finally decided to try going to my friend’s chiropractor. It was such a relief when I finally started to feel better thanks to the great chiropractic care I received. That’s when I decided to start researching chiropractic care and how it could be used to treat different conditions. This blog contains the results of that research. If you’re looking for a way to feel better, you too may benefit from chiropractic healing. These articles will help you learn how.