Category: Uncategorized

How Seeing a Chiropractor Can Help Your Workers Comp Claim

No matter how good you are at your job, accidents can still happen. That’s why they’re called accidents, after all. You never know when disaster will strike, and it could leave you injured enough to put you out of commission. Filing for workers comp can be a pain, but the experts at Impact Medical Miami are here to tell you how seeing a chiropractor can make the process so much easier.

What Is an OWCP?

The Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP) is available to reimburse you for any injuries that can happen in the workplace. If your condition leaves you incapable of performing your duties, you can file for disability coverage for your leave of absence or for your medical bills. There are different programs that each address different situations in order to assist as many people as possible according to the organization’s mission statement.

The four major OWCP programs are the:

• Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program
• Federal Employees’ Compensation Program
• Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Program
• Coal Mine Workers’ Compensation Program

How to Handle Workplace Injuries

In the event of a workplace accident, the very first thing you should do is report the injury to your supervisor so they can help you receive immediate attention. Once your wellbeing is stabilized, the next step would be to file your workers comp claim. You could ask your supervisor for help, but there’s a possibility of them not being trained or prepared for this sort of outcome. However, chiropractors usually have extensive experience in filling out OWCP forms since they are qualified medical professionals. This means that they are legally allowed to give you an official report to use for any of your various paperwork.

It is especially important to get your paperwork done not only to secure your funds but also to hang onto your job. It is illegal in the state of Florida to terminate someone filing a workers comp claim which is why it’s worth looking into as soon as you can.

How a Chiropractor Can Help

Since chiropractors are qualified to give you a valid medical report to use for your workers comp claim, it’s worth it to schedule a visit to evaluate and mitigate any pain while you’re at it. Getting physical treatment is a much better alternative to just resorting to pain medication which could end up affecting your ability to work anyway. Seeking chiropractic care looks better on your claim since you’re taking active measures to get back on the scene.

Chiropractic services that can help with work-related injuries include:

• Ice and heat therapy
• Manual soft tissue therapy
• Spinal manipulation and traction
• Facilitated stretches
• Therapeutic exercise programs
• And more

Find a Chiropractor Today!

Finding a qualified chiropractor to help you with your workers comp claim is as easy as making an appointment with Impact Medical Miami! Our specialists can ease any sort of pain caused by workplace injuries and we can guide you through the filing process so you can get back to work like nothing happened. Get started by calling us today at 786-789-3171.

How Chronic Disabilities Affect Your Driving & How We Can Help

Car accidents can cause someone to develop chronic disabilities. In turn, these chronic disabilities can lead to car accidents. It’s a vicious cycle that many people struggle with, but we’re here to help! Find out how chronic disabilities can affect your ability to drive and what the kind professionals at Impact Medical Sarasota can do for you.

Types of Chronic Disabilities

Neurological Diseases

The most dangerous impairments when it comes to driving are those that involve the brain. There are many factors to consider during every drive and so your ability to think quickly on the spot is essential to your overall safety. Knowing where to turn, when it’s safe to change lanes, and which instruments to use for each action are all regular thoughts that occur during every drive that many people take for granted. However, neurological diseases can make these basic actions nearly impossible.

Neurological diseases can affect:

• Cognitive function
• Hand-eye coordination
• Real-time decision-making
• Memory recollection
• Sense of direction

Muscle and Joint Functions

You may not realize just how much strength is needed to grasp and turn the steering wheel, but those who suffer from muscle and joint problems can have difficulties performing this otherwise simple task. Both decreased muscle strength and lack of muscle control can be extremely dangerous because you could lose control of the steering wheel and cause an unfortunate accident.

Muscular dystrophy is a tragic disease that can greatly determine your ability (or inability) to drive. This gradual and continuous weakness and deterioration of muscle mass can make it impossible for victims to drive.

Neck and Back Pain

Sore or sharp pain through the upper and middle back can be very distracting during drives, especially during elongated road trips. Pain in the neck can be even more debilitating with difficulty turning the head to survey the surrounding environment. In this case, accommodating larger-than-average mirrors could help but it still doesn’t quite solve the issue.

Arthritis

It goes without saying that arthritis can have an immense impact on your grip strength. Many people correlate this disease to computer usage, video game activity, writing by hand, and knitting or crocheting. However, prolonged or excessive driving can also be a triggering factor. Even attempting to grab the steering wheel can be incredibly painful to those with arthritis.

How Physical Therapy Can Help

Driving with chronic disabilities may require you to follow certain restrictions such as refraining from traveling at night, taking medications regularly, or utilizing specialized equipment. Depending on the severity of your condition, healing through physical therapy is always an option even if it’s just to lessen the pain.

Attending regular therapy sessions can improve:

• Muscle strength
• Range of motion
• Motor skills
• Pain threshold
• Overall mood
• Posture

The Best Place to Go for Physical Therapy

The sooner you begin physical therapy, the better. Symptoms can get worse no matter how long ago the signs started to show, so today is a better day than any! Get an examination done for a personalized physical therapy plan by calling Impact Medical Sarasota today at 941-269-2183 to schedule a free consultation.

Causes of Subluxations & How Chiropractic Care Helps

No matter if it’s your first time to the chiropractor or you go often, you’ve likely heard the term subluxation before. For those not familiar, this term may sound a little unusual.

Our team at Impact Medical Wesley Chapel discusses what subluxation means, what the common causes and symptoms are, and how our chiropractors can help.

What is Subluxation?

Subluxation is a chiropractic term that refers to a joint that is not working correctly, such as a misalignment or restriction of movement.

A common subluxation is the vertebrae of the spine, often called a spinal subluxation. When a vertebra is misaligned, this puts pressure on the nerves within the spine, causing pain and a reduction in the function of the nerve signals between the brain and the body.

Spinal subluxations are often the root cause of several health conditions including back pain and stress. People can also suffer from other kinds of subluxations in their ribs, feet, shoulders, wrists, and other parts of the body.

If a patient’s subluxations are not treated, imbalances and pain can be caused in the body.

What Causes Subluxation?

There are many reasons why you may be suffering from subluxation. Physical subluxations can be caused by trauma such as a slip or fall, a car accident, repetitive motions, improper lifting, and even poor posture.

Chemicals such as alcohol, drugs, pollution, and poor diet can also cause imbalances in the body leading to “chemical” subluxations.

Stress is another common culprit of subluxations. Stress, anger, fear, grief, anxiety, and other negative emotions can lead to increased tension in the body and subluxations.

Common Symptoms

Several symptoms may indicate that you have a subluxation. While every patient is unique, here are a few common symptoms of subluxations:

• Back or neck pain: If you have constant back or neck pain, you may have a spinal subluxation. The pain can range from mild to sharper, intense pain.

• Headaches: Headaches may occur from the pressure that can build up due to an untreated misalignment in the spine. Often, tension headaches due to subluxation occur out of nowhere.

• Reduced range of motion: Muscle stiffness and reduced range of motion are common if you have a subluxation. As a result, you may find it hard to perform daily tasks.

Subluxations can also cause muscle tenderness, joint inflammation, numbness, and burning sensations.

Chiropractic Care

Chiropractors are specialists who are trained to treat subluxations. Our chiropractors at Impact Medical Wesley Chapel can restore the misaligned vertebrae to their proper position by using spinal adjustments.

In most cases, a chiropractor will use their hands to apply corrective pressure to the spine in a specific location and direction. This manual force helps restore the mobility and alignment of the vertebrae. Sometimes a chiropractor may use specialized instruments to detect subluxations and adjust the spine.

Generally, chiropractic adjustments are painless. But if you have been in a car accident or experienced a slip and fall, you may feel some discomfort due to inflammation.

It may be recommended that you take part in physical therapy or rehabilitation in addition to chiropractic care to help strengthen your back muscles and prevent subluxations from reoccurring.

Treat Subluxations at the Source

If you are suffering from back pain, lack of mobility, or headaches, you may be experiencing a subluxation. Our skilled chiropractors at Impact Med Wesley Chapel can treat your subluxations so you can regain mobility and live pain-free.

Reach out to our medical clinic today, it could be one of the best decisions you make for your health! Call 813-701-5424 to schedule a consultation today!

The Most Common Boat-Related Injuries We See

Boating is one of Miami’s most popular recreational activities throughout Florida. Drawn by the warmer waters that are teeming with fish and plenty of space for all the watersports you could ever want, tourists and residents alike make the most of their time on the water. Unfortunately, however, boat-related injuries happen all the time because of so many boats on the water at the same time all year long. 

There’s simply no messing around when it comes to boat-related injuries, and the injury and recovery professionals at Impact Medical Miami have helped many patients that have been injured while enjoying their time on the water. Whether you’re dealing with a boat-related injury right now or not, it’s essential to understand what the most common boat-related injuries are so you know when you need to seek the compassionate and specialized care of professionals like the team here at Impact Medical. 

Here’s our list of the most common boat-related injuries that we see.

The Dangers

You’re out there riding that perfect wake on the wakeboard, or you are cruising along in the boat and having the best time ever. Until you hit the water headfirst or you must stop abruptly throwing your body forward. The truth is, either of these situations can cause significant injury to your back, neck, and spine. 

One of the most common injuries that we see are injuries from:

• Being ejected from a boat or other watercraft
• Capsizing
• Colliding with objects in the water. 
• Wiping Out

All of these types of boat-related accidents can cause significant injury to your body because of how you twist or turn your body—yet they happen more often than you think.

The Most Common Injuries We See

Whiplash

One of the most common injuries that we see in boat-related injuries is whiplash. While it’s typically associated with being in a car accident, the physics of hitting the water when you’re thrown from the boat or wiped out badly are the same. Whiplash can occur anytime that your body has to stop suddenly and unexpectedly.

Sprains & Strains

Because your body is often contorting in ways that it’s not used to moving, boating accidents can lead to bad sprains and strains on your joints and muscles. These types of injuries can sneak up on you a few days to a few weeks after the accident, which is why it’s vital to seek out the care of a professional chiropractor even if you don’t think you’re injured. 

Lower Back Injuries

Your lower back is one of the most problematic areas of your body during a fall in a boating accident. That’s because you may be curling over to protect yourself from further injury or even crash through the water on your back. Lower back injuries can lead to long-term chronic pain if a specialist doesn’t address them. 

How We Can Help

Getting professional chiropractic care after a boating accident is critical to your ability to recover quickly and start enjoying the water again. Here at Impact Medical Miami, we can help diagnose your injury correctly and ensure you get the proper care you need to recover. 

When you trust your recovery to Impact Medical, we’re able to: 

• Adjust and correct any spinal misalignment
• Reduce pain and swelling.
• Help improve your mobility.
• Promote long-term healing and recovery. 
• Build back strength and flexibility.

Stop Living with Boat-Related Injury Pain.

If you think you’ve been injured in a boating accident or you took a nasty fall on the water, be sure to call the Impact Medical team in Miami right away. We’re here to help you optimize your recovery through comprehensive and professional medical care. 

Your road to wellness starts here… So, give us a call today at (786)-789-3171.