Why You Should Always See a Chiropractor After Falling

We’ve all been there. We’re walking down the street, minding our own business, and then we trip over a wire or cable that’s lying in the middle of the sidewalk. Or maybe we’re trying to get to work during a winter storm, but we slip on an icy patch and end up sprawled out in the middle of the sidewalk. 

No matter how you fall, one thing is for sure: it’s not fun. And if you’re not careful, you could end up with some serious injuries. In fact, after a fall, most people experience pain in their neck, back, and other parts of their body—even parts that they didn’t injure during the fall. Many times, I’ve had patients come in after a fall who landed on their arm and don’t understand why their neck hurts, or why their back hurts. 

Today, I’ll explain why falls lead to pains in other areas of your body and how chiropractic care can treat it. 

What Happens When You Fall?

When you fall down—either from tripping, slipping, or simply losing your balance—there’s a lot of energy from your movement that has to go somewhere. If you’ve ever studied physics, you should know that the energy from your body moving doesn’t just dissipate. It has to go somewhere. 

Take baseball for example. The pitcher throws the ball, you swing the bat and knock it out of the park. The energy from your body, the strength of your muscles, and all that momentum from your swing transfers into the baseball as soon as you hit it with the bat. It transfers the energy so well, in fact, that you change the trajectory of the ball and get a home run. 

The same thing happens when you fall, only there’s less “peanuts and cracker jacks” and more bruises and ice packs. You start off upright and moving, then suddenly your feet are knocked out from under you, and you’re stopped by the ground the same way your bat stopped the baseball. You don’t have enough force to change the trajectory of the Earth when you fall down, so all that energy goes right back into your body—painfully. 

The Impact from a Fall Messes with Your Body’s Alignment

When your body absorbs the impact of a fall, it’s a lot like getting whiplash. Different parts of your body can get jerked around when you land, and you may not even realize what parts of your body are in pain until the next day. 

For example, have you ever fallen down, but caught yourself on your hands? Your hands and wrists might have been sore right away, but everything else felt fine so you thought everything was fine. Then a day or so later, you notice that your shoulder hurts, or your neck aches, and you can’t figure out why because you haven’t done anything to aggravate those body parts. 

Except you have. When you fell and caught yourself, you didn’t just hurt your wrists. You knocked your shoulder and neck out of alignment. Remember, everything in your body is connected, and the energy you generate when you fall has to go somewhere. It doesn’t stop at the point of impact (i.e. your hands and wrists). It can travel deeper into your body, knocking things out of alignment and putting you in pain long after you get back up. 

How Chiropractic Care Helps After a Fall

Chiropractic care is a holistic approach to your overall health, meaning that we look at your body as a whole, not just at the individual parts. How does that work in application? Well, if you come into my chiropractic office and tell me, “I fell down and hurt my wrist,” I will definitely check out your wrist. But I’ll also check out your: 

• Arm
• Elbow
• Shoulder
• Neck
• Back

This is because I know from my education and experience that a fall can impact much more than the body part you landed on. If I see you as a patient after you fall, I’m going to check out your whole body to find what’s out of alignment. Then I’m going to do adjustments to get your spine and other joints back into alignment and functioning properly. That’s how I can help you relieve pain and heal more easily after a fall. 

Visit Mattingly Chiropractic After a Fall

If you’ve experienced a fall, the first thing you should do is get any needed medical care from a medical physician. After that, come see me for chiropractic treatment. I’ll get you up and running again in no time. And if you want extra pain relief, ask about a Pressure Point Therapy session when you visit. 

Call (314) 310-6454 to schedule your appointment today.