Caring for Your Spine After a Slip or Fall
Slip and falls are the leading causes of spinal injuries and neuropathic pain. After you've fallen and been injured, it can feel like you're faced with months of a difficult recovery. For some, the prolonged effects of back pain after a slip or fall can make them quickly spiral into depression. Although some conditions may have enduring symptoms, at iRISE Spine and Joint, we offer comprehensive care to help you find relief and freedom again.
How Back Injuries Progress
A very common problem with slip & fall injuries is the fact that they have both immediate and long-term consequences. If you are a high-risk individual, such as a senior citizen or someone with brittle bones, existing damage, or fissures, your likelihood of experiencing a serious injury is that much greater after a fall. Pinched nerves, compressed discs, and torn ligaments can also cause serious damage that can have a lifelong impact.
There are three main areas of the spine:
- The cervical vertebrae in the neck (upper spine).
- The thoracic vertebrae in the middle back.
- The lumbar vertebrae in the lower back.
Each area of the spine has its own set of discs, nerves, and muscles that affect different parts of the body. Chronic pain from lack of treatment or misdiagnosis can cause problems to quickly worsen, leaving you in moderate to severe pain.
The Most Common Slip and Fall Injuries
Every patient is unique, and we always provide one-on-one, personalized treatment plans for each of our patients. However, there are some similarities among people who experience a slip and fall that can make it easier for us to pinpoint problems and come up with better interventions for faster relief.
Understanding these conditions may also help you identify the source of your back injury symptoms. You should always seek a medical professional's expert opinion before you try any treatments. Early intervention can prevent permanent nerve and muscle damage as well as reduce the severity of your pain.
Compression Fracture
Some falls can lead to vertebral compression fractures (VCFs), which are most common in the lower thoracic and upper lumbar spine, but they can happen anywhere in the spine. The effects range from severe pain to physical deformity. VCF injuries are more common among people with brittle bones, as is the case with patients with osteoporosis. Women who are postmenopausal are also at a higher risk of a compression fracture.
Signs of a vertebral compression fracture include:
- Sudden back pain.
- Pain when walking or sitting.
- Reduced pain when lying down on your back.
- Reduced mobility.
- Progressive deformity, disability, and/or height loss.
- Herniated discs.
A fall or slip that twists the spine can cause a disc to rupture, causing the softer inner portion of the disk to herniate. This creates pressure on the surrounding nerves, which can result in moderate to intense pain, tingling and numbness, and muscle weakness. People with herniated discs can feel pain corresponding to the specific areas injured in the spine. For example, if you herniated a disc in your lumbar, you are likely to experience pain and tingling in your lower limbs.
Treatment for herniated discs requires surgery, but they can also be managed early on with chiropractic care, physical therapy, therapeutic ultrasounds, steroid injections, and medication.
Slip and Fall Back Injury Treatment
iRISE Spine and Joint provides personalized, compassionate care to patients of all ages. We offer services in English, Spanish, and Creole and interpreters for most languages, to help you get the quality medical care and information you deserve.
If you have any questions about our services or would like to book an appointment, please do not hesitate to contact us today.
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