Accidents and Injuries

Overexertion and repetitive stress injuries make up a fourth of all work injuries. Repetitive pulling, lifting, punching in numbers, typing, pushing, holding, carrying, and scanning are the most common causes of job-related injuries. These types of injuries are the most common that cause missed days at work.  Overexertion can lead to lasting physical chronic conditions, ranging from chronic back pain to chronic joint pain caused by the advanced wearing and tearing of the various musculoskeletal tissues. Chiropractic medicine takes a comprehensive and whole-body approach to treating neuromusculoskeletal injuries. Chiropractic relieves tight or damaged muscles, increases nerve energy flow, and properly aligns the joints through adjustments, spinal traction, decompression, and various forms of manual manipulation.

Overexertion and Repetitive Stress Injuries

Overexertion and repetitive stress injuries typically occur over time/years of engaging in the same strenuous activity regularly. However, an overexertion injury can occur with one sudden or extreme movement. A worker can injure muscles, tendons, joints, and ligaments. Overexertion can lead to musculoskeletal disorders with symptoms including:

• Inflammation
• Swelling
• Numbness
• Stiffness
• Chronic pain
• Limited or total loss of mobility in the muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints.

Types

A few of the most common examples of overexertion injuries include:

Soft-Tissue

• Injuries to muscles, ligaments, tendons, and joints.

Back

• Pulled, strained back muscles.
• Herniated discs.
• Compressed nerve roots.
• Fractured vertebrae.

Dehydration and Heat Stroke 

• Most common among workers doing outdoor manual labor.

Repetitive and Overuse

• Injuries range from carpal tunnel syndrome to stress fractures.
• Often the result of weeks, months, or years of repeated movements
• In many cases, two or more injuries can happen simultaneously.
• For example, a worker is more likely to sustain an injury if they are dehydrated or they are performing dual tasks.

Causes

Certain movements and activities are more likely to cause overexertion injuries. Some of the most common include:

• Daily lifting of objects, light and heavy.
• Performing awkward movements that cause the body to be in unhealthy positions.
• Standing and/or sitting or for long periods.
• Using excessive force to perform tasks.
• Operating heavy machinery.
• Working in hot and/or humid conditions.

High-Rate Injury Industries

Industries in which overexertion injuries are most common include:

• Education.
• Health services.
• Manufacturing.
• Construction.
• Warehouse work.
• Transportation.
• Wholesale trade.
• Retail stores.

Chiropractic Treatment

These injuries can lead to missed work, debilitating pain, and medical bills. Depending on the severity of the injury, chiropractic care will use massage techniques, spinal manipulation, traction, and decompression therapies, to increase flexibility and mobility to reduce the chances of a recurring injury. The benefits of chiropractic include:

• Prevents the risk of worsening or future injuries.
• Expedites recovery to help individuals rehabilitate and get back to work sooner.
• Improves physical and mental well-being.
• Provide recommendations on how to properly stretch and strengthen muscles.
• Nutritional anti-inflammatory recommendations.

By learning how to avoid overexertion injuries, workers can be more productive, enjoy work, and improve their quality of life.

From Injury To Recovery

General Disclaimer *

The information herein is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified healthcare professional or licensed physician and is not medical advice. We encourage you to make healthcare decisions based on your research and partnership with a qualified healthcare professional. Our information scope is limited to chiropractic, musculoskeletal, physical medicines, wellness, sensitive health issues, functional medicine articles, topics, and discussions. We provide and present clinical collaboration with specialists from various disciplines. Each specialist is governed by their professional scope of practice and their jurisdiction of licensure. We use functional health & wellness protocols to treat and support care for the injuries or disorders of the musculoskeletal system. Our videos, posts, topics, subjects, and insights cover clinical matters, issues, and topics that relate to and directly or indirectly support our clinical scope of practice.* Our office has reasonably attempted to provide supportive citations and identified the relevant research study or studies supporting our posts. We provide copies of supporting research studies available to regulatory boards and the public upon request.

We understand that we cover matters that require an additional explanation of how it may assist in a particular care plan or treatment protocol; therefore, to further discuss the subject matter above, please contact Dr. Alex Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900.

Dr. Alex Jimenez DC, MSACP, CCST, IFMCP*, CIFM*, ATN*

email: coach@elpasofunctionalmedicine.com

Licensed in: Texas & New Mexico*

References

Anderson, Vern Putz, et al. “Occupational fatalities, injuries, illnesses, and related economic loss in the wholesale and retail trade sector.” American Journal of industrial medicine vol. 53,7 (2010): 673-85. doi:10.1002/ajim.20813

Choi, Hyun-Woo, et al. “Characteristics of occupational musculoskeletal disorders of five sectors in the service industry between 2004 and 2013.” Annals of Occupational and environmental medicine vol. 29 41. 19 Sep. 2017, doi:10.1186/s40557-017-0198-4

Friedenberg, Rivi, et al. “Work-related musculoskeletal disorders and injuries among emergency medical technicians and paramedics: A comprehensive narrative review.” Archives of Environmental & occupational health vol. 77,1 (2022): 9-17. doi:10.1080/19338244.2020.1832038

Galinsky, T et al. “Overexertion injuries in home health care workers and the need for ergonomics.” Home health care services quarterly vol. 20,3 (2001): 57-73. doi:10.1300/J027v20n03_04

González Fuentes, Aroa, et al. “Work-related overexertion injuries in cleaning occupations: An exploration of the factors to predict the days of absence by means of machine learning methodologies.” Applied ergonomics, vol. 105 103847. 30 Jul. 2022, doi:10.1016/j.apergo.2022.103847

Schoenfisch, Ashley L et al. “Declining rates of work-related overexertion back injuries among union drywall installers in Washington State, 1989-2008: Improved work safety or shifting of care?.” American Journal of industrial medicine vol. 57,2 (2014): 184-94. doi:10.1002/ajim.22240

Williams, J M et al. “Work-related injuries in a rural emergency department population.” Academic emergency medicine: official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine vol. 4,4 (1997): 277-81. doi:10.1111/j.1553-2712.1997.tb03548.x

Minimally invasive spine surgery known as M.I.S.S is an option to traditional open surgical procedures, as well as an alternative when non-surgical approaches are working but the pain or condition is becoming worse, regardless. These are performed to treat a variety of spinal disorders like:

• Bone spurs
• Degenerative disc disease
• Herniated disc
• Scoliosis
• Spinal instability
• Spinal stenosis
• Spinal tumors

Minimally invasive surgery can offer potential benefits. These include

• A small/tiny incision/s
• Minimal cutting through soft tissues like ligaments, and muscles
• Outpatient option/s
• Reduced post-operative pain
• Quicker recovery

The Focus of Spine Surgery

There are two main goals when it comes to spine surgery or rather the goal/focus of the surgery. These are decompressing and stabilizing the spine.

Decompression of the spine

Spinal decompression involves removing any tissue/s that are compressing/pinching the nerve structures like a spinal nerve root or the spinal cord itself. Bone spurs and fragments from a herniated disc are the types of tissue/s that can cause neural compression.

Stabilization of the spine

An abnormal movement of one or more levels/segments of the spinal cord can cause back pain, neck pain, or both. Surgeries that are meant to stabilize and stop these abnormal movements utilize spine instrumentation combined with fusion.

Spine Surgery Techniques

Minimally invasive spine surgery techniques include:

• Percutaneous or through the skin
• Mini-open or small incision procedure/s

Rather than cutting through soft tissues, a tubular retraction instrument generates a tunnel that expands and passes between the muscle/s to access the spine's column. Then an endoscope or a tiny video camera goes in and around the area, projecting a visualization of what's happening on a monitor during the procedure.

This is the surgeon's/team's eyes as they work to repair the damage. The surgery is run through the tubular retraction system along with any specially designed instruments that are needed. Types of surgical procedures performed with minimally invasive surgery include:

• Discectomy
• Microdiscectomy
• Foraminotomy
• Microforaminotomy
• Microlaminectomy
• Microlaminotomy

The micro means that the surgery is done using a special microscopic camera to view the disc/s and nerve/s. Imaging scans, systems, and image-guidance technologies, like fluoroscopy, which is a real-time x-ray are utilized during the surgery pinpointing the key aspects of the patient’s spinal anatomy. The surgical imaging shows 2D and 3D views, which guides the placement of any instrumentation, like pedicle screws.

Disorders Treated with Minimally Invasive Surgery

Degenerative disc disease

Degenerative disc disease is known as DDD often develops progressively in older adults and affects the intervertebral discs. The normal wear and tear of cellular age-related changes in the body can cause the spine's discs to:

• Stiffen
• Lose Flexibility
• Loss of Strength
• Loss of Height
• Lose shape, along with the ability to absorb/distribute the forces associated with moving

These structural changes increase the risk of disc herniation and subluxations.

Herniated discs

A herniated disc also called a slipped, bulging, and ruptured disc. This happens when the soft gel cushion of a disc breaks through the protective outer layer. Other than the damaged disc, the loose interior gel can also irritate and inflame the nerves causing back pain.

Scoliosis

Scoliosis is an abnormal sideways curve of the spine that can cause progressive spinal deformity. A scoliotic curve can look like an “S” or “C.” Most cases have no known cause, and while the condition is more commonly associated with children, adults can develop scoliosis, as well.

Spinal stenosis

Spinal stenosis happens when the spinal nerve roots and the spinal cord become compressed/pinched. These nerves branch off the spinal cord and exit the spinal canal through passageways called neuroforamen. Nerve and spinal cord compression can cause symptoms like:

• Pain
• Weakness
• Tingling sensations
• Numbness
• Sometimes, pain can travel into the arms or legs

Spine Surgery Risks

With any spine surgery there are potential risks and complications that can occur. Here are some possible complications that can happen during and after surgery, with both open and minimally invasive procedures.

• Bleeding
• Blood clots
• Failed fusion pseudarthrosis/non-union
• Nerve damage
• Symptoms come back
• Infection/s 

Candidate for Surgery

Minimally invasive spine surgery does offer many benefits:

• Tiny incision
• Less pain
• Reduced risk
• Faster recovery

Let's not forget that M.I.S.S is still surgery. Less than 5% of people with back or neck pain need spine surgery and, surgery is the last resort for treating pain and symptoms caused by a spinal condition/disorder.

It is only when non-surgical treatments like chiropractic, acupuncture, physical therapy, medication, or spinal injections do not reduce symptoms in 3 to 6 months. This is when you qualify to be a candidate for spine surgery. There are certain types of spinal disorders that require urgent or immediate surgical intervention.

Talk with your doctor, chiropractor, or spine specialist about the pain, the symptoms, and compare the results of the different therapies/treatments and go from there. With any type of surgery there are many considerations to discuss before making a decision to treat back or neck pain and if minimally invasive surgery could be an option.

Lower Back Pain Chiropractor