Dislocated joints can be incredibly painful, and if not properly treated, can cause long-term issues. Dislocation can occur in any joint in the body – from the shoulders to the toes – with a range of pain levels and complications depending on location. When a joint is dislocated, it “pops” out of place, typically causing immobility in the area and a lot of pain.

Old movies may show hardy heroes using a wall to pop dislocations back into place, but the reality is, if they are not addressed with proper medical treatment, dislocations can begin to recur in the injured area, and often contribute to joint problems later in life.

Dislocations Are Fairly Common

Dislocations can occur in any manner of ways. A stubbed toe can easily be dislocated, but may not be noticed until further complications arise. Accidentally hitting something with the hand in the wrong way can cause dislocated fingers.

Of course, athletes are incredibly susceptible to joint injuries like dislocations, particularly in contact sports like football. Dancers are prone to dislocated knees when not properly landing a jump, and basketball players often dislocate fingers when grabbing a ball in the wrong way.

More direct physical traumas, such as accidents and falls, are also major contributors to dislocations.

Dislocations, while painful in the immediacy of injury, will often heal quickly once properly reset. Many people are back to a low-form of activity within a week, but proper stretching and attention to the area is required even in the absence of severe pain.

Treating Dislocations with Chiropractic Care

Chiropractic care can be an essential treatment for the long-term management of dislocations, and is a wonderful line of defense against future dislocations. Chiropractors focus on aligning the body’s structures in optimal ways, and therefore are ideal treatment professionals for the care of an unaligned joint dislocation.

Depending on the location of a dislocation, a chiropractor will perform a series of different movements to either realign joints or rebuild strength in the area, depending on the severity. Much of a chiropractor’s focus in this area is in increasing ligament strength in order to reduce the chance of future dislocations.

When to See a Chiropractor for Dislocations

Proper emergency medical care is the best action immediately following a dislocation, as a doctor will reset the bone and test to make sure there is no related damage to the surrounding area. In many severe cases of dislocation, such as dislocated shoulders, surgery may be required in order to repair the ligaments; the longer this treatment is put off, the more complications will arise.

Seeing a chiropractor early in dislocation treatment will help both patient and practitioner chart out the best long-term course of action for healing.

Overall, chiropractors are excellent treatment practitioners and can encourage healing of dislocations, because they will focus on immediate and long-term strategies to optimize the affected and surrounding areas, causing less of a chance of future injuries and reducing long-term complications that may affect the area.

For more information, contact Horst Chiropractic today.