Dr. Stefano Sinicropi, M.D.

When we suffer an injury, we assume that our bodies will eventually heal and that life will return to normal. However, sometimes an injury has long-term consequences, and it can even lead to an increased risk of pain or another injury to the same area down the road. So how can you prevent an injury from increasing your risk of a future problem? In today’s blog, we share some tips to help prevent an injury from causing future problems for your spine.

Preventing An Injury From Returning

The likelihood that an injury causes problems in the future will depend on a number of different factors, some of which are uncontrollable. For example, a severe injury that requires surgery may be more likely to cause future problems than a simple spinal muscle strain, but that doesn’t mean everything is completely out of your control. If you do the following things in the wake of a minor or severe spine injury, you’ll be working to reduce the risk that the original injury leads to problems and pain down the road.

• Actively Treat It – One of the best ways to prevent back pain from lingering or returning is to confront an injury head on. If you just try to ignore back pain and go about your day as normal, you’re going to continue to stress the location, which can delay or inhibit full healing. Instead, rest your back and then work to help your spine recover with controlled and targeted exercise. This will help you fully recover from an injury, which reduces the likelihood that it will cause future problems.
• Do Your Rehab Exercises And Physical Therapy – If you’re recovering after a significant spinal injury or surgery, odds are physical therapy or certain rehab exercises will be prescribed. It’s imperative that you do all of your exercises and work hard during your physical therapy sessions. Not only will this help your back injury heal, but they will also help you to come back stronger than you were before, which can help to prevent an injury from coming back. If you only half commit to physical therapy, you won’t experience the best possible healing results, and that can open you up to future injury and affect your functional ability.
• Ease Back Into Activity – Activity is helpful to a recovering spine, so long as you are smart about it. You need to ease back into activity and slowly increase your intensity so that muscles and tissues can get used to handling stress without becoming overloaded. If you rush back into activity or don’t give your body enough time to prepare for athletic activity, you run the risk of a setback or another painful injury. Fully recovery from an injury and ease back into activity to help protect your back from subsequent injuries.
• See A Specialist – Finally, if you really want to ensure you’re doing everything you can to overcome an injury and prevent it from causing problems in the future, consult with a specialist like Dr. Sinicropi. He’ll be able to pinpoint the source of your pain with a diagnostic exam and imaging techniques, and he’ll be able to set you up with a treatment plan for your specific injury. If we rely on the internet as our only guide for treating back pain, sometimes we can follow the wrong advice or end up misdiagnosing our back pain and leaving open the possibility of more problems down the road. To really give yourself the best chance of putting an end to back pain once and for all, sync up with a professional.

For more information, or for help putting a spinal injury behind you, reach out to Dr. Sinicropi’s office today.

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