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Car accidents can damage and overload the muscles, nerves, and joints of your spine. This can lead to a plethora of problems down the road, including scar tissue, early arthritis of your joints, chronic headaches, chronic pain, etc.

Sometimes the damage from an auto accident cannot be reversed. The only way to tell is for an expert to take a look earlier, rather than later. This will allow for a better, faster recovery, not to mention clarity and peace of mind.

Fortunately, seeing an expert to diagnose and treat any problem that may have developed from the accident can help slow down wear and tear processes in your joints, as well as resolve pain. Seeing a highly trained soft tissue specialist is the safest route to healing after an auto accident(even a light fender bender).

At Apollo Soft Tissue and Spine, our soft tissue specialists are chiropractors, and experts with diagnosis and treatment of muscle, nerve, and joint problems. We see people who have been in auto accidents all the time, and are dedicated to helping our patients live pain free. If you or anyone you know is suffering from pain or injury due to an auto accident, we can help.

The post Auto Accidents: How to Recover from Pain appeared first on Apollo Soft Tissue and Spine.

In 1949, the discovery of cortisone was considered a medical landmark and breakthrough. Since that time, there has actually NEVER been a study to prove the long term benefits of these injections.

Studies have proven time and time again, that while most cortisone injections may provide temporary pain relief, often around 3 to 6 months, patient clinical outcomes after a year were WORSE than those that did absolutely NOTHING!  Think about that for a second…..People who did NOTHING for a year were actually better off than the patients trying to fix their problem with a cortisone injection!

Cortisone shots are frequently recommended by orthopedic specialists for muscle and joint pain.  These shots wipe out inflammation and hopefully your pain. Your ortho is busy, and these shots are fast and easy. Sounds good right?

Not so fast.

Is inflammation or pain the problem?

Nope.

Inflammation and pain are the effect of your problem! When a tendon, muscle, or joint gets overloaded and injured, it will become swollen or inflamed.  If you want proper healing, you actually need inflammation. If the inflammation is removed, the next steps in the healing process cannot occur.  So your injured tendon, muscle, or joint never recovers. And it gets worse…

Removing inflammation leads to a bigger problem. You take away the warning that lets you know something is wrong. Your pain!!!  Your problem is not your pain. Your problem is your injured body part. The purpose of your pain is to stop you from beating up your body. Pain serves as your body’s check engine light, or alert system. A reminder that “Hey buddy, something is broken and it needs to be fixed.” If you aren’t getting this warning, you keep damaging the area, and your problem escalates. This is why your pain often comes back even stronger, your orthopedist recommends another injection, and the vicious cycle continues…

Is this the only problem with cortisone?

No way!

Cortisone actually eats away at your cartilage.  So if you get an injection into your joint, that joint will be further damaged by the exact thing that is supposed to help it.

Another big problem is with treating an injured tendon. The injection weakens the tendon and can even cause it to tear. An injection should never be done directly into a tendon.

Some other possible side effects you probably don’t want might include:

• Joint infection
• Nerve damage
• Thinning of skin and soft tissue around the injection site
• Thinning of nearby bone (osteoporosis)
• Weight Gain
• Easy Bruising
• Elevation of Blood Pressure
• Acne (steroid acne)
• Whitening or lightening of the skin around the injection site
• Increased blood sugar levels in diabetics
• Bone Death (osteonecrosis)

The ONLY person who should be getting a cortisone shot is a pro athlete that has a huge competition in the near future, after they’ve accepted the long term consequences of the injection.

You probably aren’t that person.

So what should you do if you’re thinking about getting a corisone shot, or have had one before?

Schedule a visit with us at Apollo Soft Tissue and Spine. You need a long term solution. The only way to get that is by first finding the true cause of your injury, followed by advanced treatment to fix it. We hope you have found this post helpful.  If you or someone you know is considering a cortisone shot, we recommend sharing this, pumping the brakes, and coming to our office for a second opinion.

Drs. Drew Ruebbelke and John Appleman specialize in finding and fixing the true cause of your muscle and joint pain. To schedule an appointment, call (720) 593-2047. It’s time for you to finally Live Pain Free.

The post Thinking about getting a Cortisone shot? You may want to reconsider. appeared first on Apollo Soft Tissue and Spine.

If you’re reading this, you most likely suffer from some sort of chronic low back or neck pain.  Ask yourself these following questions to help solve the problem:

1. Is your pain worse in the morning?
2. Does the pain get better after waking up and moving around?
3. Have you had multiple or previous episodes of moderate to severe pain?
4. Does the pain usually last 2-10 days before going away?
5. Trouble sitting or standing prolonged periods of time?
6. Are movements “guarded/protected” or noticing decreased range of motion?

If you answered “yes” to a majority or all of these questions, you most likely are suffering from a disc injury whether you have been diagnosed with it or not.  Internal Disc Derangement (IDD) accounts for upwards of 40% of all low back pain and the majority of neck pain!

Disc injuries are often made worse by the presence of adhesion.  Adhesion is the most common cause of pain and decreased range of motion in the body.  Adhesion acts like glue in muscles and restricts movement.  Restricted motion causes more load on injured discs, leading to more pain and long term problems such as disc bulging or disc herniation.

The good news is that a large majority of disc injuries do not require surgery if you seek out an expert to help restore full range of motion and take pressure off of the disc. Disc injuries respond well to conservative management and treatment.  By fixing and removing adhesion, range of motion is restored and discs are essentially “decompressed” and unloaded.  Leaving you with little to no pain and able to return to regular, daily activity.

We are 2 of only 3 providers in the Denver Metro Area certified to provide you with a proper diagnosis and provide the treatment your neck or back problem needs, even if other practitioners have missed it. Our treatment has helped many people looking for answers to their pain.  We have helped patients prevent surgery and those still suffering with pain after surgery.  If you answered “yes” to most or all of the questions above, chances are we can help! Call Apollo today at 720-593-2047.

The post 6 questions to help solve your low back and neck pain. appeared first on Apollo Soft Tissue and Spine.