Before agriculture and civilization, human beings spent their days engaged in a variety of tasks simply for the sake of survival. In the course of one day, you might gather berries, hunt a deer, haul water, set a fire, and more.

Today, of course, our lives are organized very differently. Due to how our economies are structured, we tend to specialize. One group of people are in charge of poultry farming, while other groups run restaurants, while still others conduct marketing activity for those restaurants, and so on. While it has its perks, specialization means that we spend a considerable portion of our days engaged in the same repetitive tasks.

Those repetitive actions can place us at risk of “overuse” injuries, such as carpal tunnel syndrome in the wrists of people who spend a lot of time at a keyboard. Hobbies, too, such as golf, tennis, or even knitting place repetitive strain on a particular set of joints, tendons, and ligaments. Whatever the cause, overuse injuries can impair your ability to work or enjoy leisure activities.

While some medical doctors might prescribe pain medications for these injuries, we know that these drugs can often become habit forming and they only treat the pain rather than getting to the root of the problem. Others might even recommend surgery, which can lead to uncertain outcomes.

For some overuse injuries, chiropractic care can be an effective course of action for addressing the injury itself. Depending upon the type of injury, we can choose from at least two courses of action:

  • Development of an exercise and strengthening program to regain comfortable mobility and strength in the area of the injury
  • Joint manipulation to relieve pressure on affected nerves and address contributing misalignments in the back or neck

Each patient is unique, but we have found that many can avoid surgery and/or the use of potentially addictive painkillers by pursuing chiropractic care instead.

If you experience chronic pain due to a repeated use injury, contact our office to schedule a consultation. We will review your options, so that you can choose the course of care that is best for you.