Recovering From Back Pain Caused By An Impact

”Recovering From Back Pain Caused By An Impact” is a collaborative post. Please see the disclosure page for more information.  Always seek advice from a medical professional.

One of the strongest parts of the body is the back. Our spine is made up of very dense bone, our spinal column is protected by 33 vertebrae along with incredibly powerful muscles. The erector spinae muscles are some of the thickest and densest muscles in our body.

Usually, when you get a pinched nerve in your back, it’s because these muscles are inflamed. Just by their swelling, you can have so much pain shoot up and down your back and legs. Yet, they are also able to lift astonishing amounts of weight, they can compress and flex to allow us to do heavy labor. However, all of this does not mean our backs are invulnerable or invincible. So when you go through a viscous impact trauma injury to your back, you are left almost helpless. The spinal column is so sensitive and injury to this area can be deadly serious. Luckily our backs are able to keep us in one piece even when horribly hurt. This allows our bodies to heal and get back to normal.  As always check with your doctor for what is the best plan of action in healing for your back and body.

Here is how you might cope with such an injury…

Brace yourself

Weightlifters wear something called a weightlifting belt. This essentially straights your spine and aligns it with your pelvis. It takes a load off the spine and puts all the pressure onto your muscles alone. Bodybuilders and power lifters wear these belt to help them absorb pressure when they are lifting very heavy weights. This was taken to a new step and designed into what is now a back brace. It’s kind of like a corset in the way it fits and sometimes looks, but the role is not to tighten your chest. A back brace will take off the weight of your upper body off your spine. It will also tighten and compress your muscles so even if they are injured from the impact too, they won’t have to work as hard. 

The Flexguard back brace is fully adjustable, it covers the entire back from top to bottom. This is great when you have a broad injury area. If your spine was bent in a painful direction, your spine will be very tender and sore. Thus, a back brace that supports the entire spinal column and wraps around your body to make it feel more natural is something you might consider buying after consulting with a doctor. The NMT back brace lumbar support belt is one of the best in lower back support especially. It features a dual outer elastic tension strap which you can adjust to your liking. This is something you would get if you have a very bad blunt force trauma injury to your lower spine or pelvis area.

Lateral misshapen bending

If you have been hit by a car from the side, your spine might have flexed in a lateral motion. This is without a doubt one of the most painful injuries to the spine you can ever have. This is because the spine is literally not designed to bend this way, but due to the sudden violent impact your body will have extended in this manner. Firstly you should seek medical help and then speak to a personal injury lawyer to make sure you at least can receive some compensation for the pain and medical bills. Pedestrian injuries are on the rise as more and more cars and drivers filter out onto the roads. If you did follow the proper rules and were hit by a car that ran a red light or was speeding, then you are certainly entitled to getting something back in return for your suffering.

Lateral flexion can cause axial rotation which offsets the spine and pelvis. Creating an ‘S’ shape, this can put a large amount of pressure onto the spine. This is a biomechanical nightmare as your spine is no longer supporting the weight of your body by using your muscles. Now the pressure is on the joints which can lead to rapid disc deterioration. You need to see your doctor for an accurate diagnosis and treatment. One way to recover from lateral flexion injuries, you might need immediate bed rest. You will probably be prescribed exercises that take the stress off the lower back and stretches your lumbar muscles. A head to knee stretch is great for relieving pain in your pelvis but also hamstrings. Stretching your legs up to the ceiling and using the wall for support is brilliant for realigning your vertebrae as well.

Deep tissue repair

Muscles are soft tissue, so they’re very pliable. The texture of our muscles allow them to absorb blunt force impacts but the repair is sometimes long and arduous. Bruising is one thing, but a deep injury to the muscle structure will need deep tissue repair. There’s no easy way to say this but you’re going to have to bite down and take the pain. Deep tissue or sports deep tissue massage is an option that could be a fantastic technique that helps your muscles regain shape, independent movement and strength once again. For the back, deep tissue is definitely needed because our muscles are so dense, that normal pressure techniques will not work. Thumbs and even knuckles won’t get right down to the bottom layers.

Therefore you need a massage therapist who will use elbows and forearms to really massage and refine the muscle attachment points. There is a technique called ‘pin and release’ which all deep tissue massage therapists use. The area of the injury will be made tense while the therapist digs in with very specific pressure. After some time of holding you’ll then release which allows the pressure to sink right down to the deepest level. Muscles release beyond their normal state of relaxation this way, therefore pin and release is pretty much the only known way of reaching the depths of your muscles. 

Back injuries are very painful, especially those that have been caused by sudden blunt force impacts such as being hit by a car. If you have been struck by a car it’s a good idea to go to the hospital or a doctor for help and to speak a legal professional to get some kind of compensation for your pain. However, you might should use that money to invest in a back brace, something that will fully support your spinal column and hopefully eliminate your back pain. 

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