Because we all live an active lifestyle, we all tend to suffer from the little aches and pains that are viewed upon as parts of our daily life. Once in a while, however, an ache or injury lingers on beyond what is comfortable. Many times this pain can be linked to a particular specific incident and this injury may be diagnosed as a strain/sprain of a joint. The doctors at SRWC can help.

The first thing to understand is that there are three different kinds of connective tissue relating to your muscles and joints that affect movement and are often injured. Because of their differences they are injured differently and they heal differently.

Tissue used to move the body by applying a pulling force across a joint. Muscle tissue is stretchable. It is the red meat in a roast. It has lots of blood flow to it. MUSCLES DO NOT ATTACH DIRECTLY TO BONE, because of the high blood flow muscle tissue can heal in 2 to 6 weeks.

This is the tough tissue which surrounds each muscle and ultimately attaches to bone. It is the white, tough, thin and flexible envelop around the red meat in a roast. Muscle fibers pull on the tendon envelop surrounding the muscle which then pulls on the bones across the joint. Blood flow is close to tendon tissue because of the attachment of muscle tissue to it but is not as high as in muscle tissue. It takes 1 to 3 months to heal.

This is the hard, barely flexible covering around joints that is left after all the other meat is removed. It attaches bone to bone and works to prevent the bones from moving excessively or separating at the joint. It has almost no blood flow and takes from 2 to 9 months to heal.

ALL INJURIES HEAL WITH SCAR TISSUE. Scar tissue is a mass of tiny fibers which are deposited in an area of injury by the body. They begin to form within 24 hours following any injury. The fibers are laid down in an unorganized cross-stitched pattern which is tough and not flexible. Only while being deposited in the early stages of healing can the fibers be stretched and caused to align in directions to make them more flexible. After 4 to 6 weeks of depositing scar fibers they become difficult to realign. After that they must be rebroken and stretched in order to return the muscle, tendon or ligament tissue to normal stretch ability to prevent ongoing problems due to irritating knots of scar tissue in the other tissues.

A strain is an injury or tearing of MUSCLE fibers. This is usually due to direct force to the muscle or overuse or overstretching while the muscle is tight. It heals quickly but does heal with scar fiber knots where the injury occurred. These can cause later problems because of the lack of flexibility of the site of injury.

A sprain is an injury or tearing of the TENDON OR LIGAMENT at the joint. This is usually due to an overstretching of the joint when the muscle has not tightened up fast enough to protect the joint or if there is more force than the muscle can handle. If you bend over to pick up a piece of paper and your back muscles are just a split second late in tightening up to correct for the forward motion a sprain can occur even without having lifted something heavy. If you pick up something heavy and drop it or move a body part faster than you can control you can still experience an injury because the damage was done in the split second before your reflexes caught up to the action.

• GENTLE ADJUSTIVE PROCEDURES - designed particularly for that joint or injury
• Stops the cycle of muscular spasm commonly found in strains/sprains
• Restores normal joint movement and optimizes biomechanics of the area
• Assists in pain relief by reducing inflammation as well as breaking the cycle of associated
• muscular spasm allowing the patient to heal
  
  

• Interferential current (IFC) have been shown to aid in breaking the cycle of spasm as well as provide lasting pain relief
• Ultrasound has been shown to stop both the cycle of chronic as well as acute inflammation
• Ice and heat provide pain relief and allow the patient to relax

• Strengthens weak musculature allowing for balance
• Stretching allows for normal joint and muscle mechanics allowing the patient to remain pain free
• Enables the patient to maintain normal posture and build upon a solid foundation
• SOFT TISSUE WORK- massage, trigger point work, soft tissue mobilization, etc.
• Keeps muscles relaxed, flexible, and ready to heal