5 Causes of Orthopedic Injuries That May Affect Your Mobility and Flexibility
Orthopedic disability refers to an impairment of the bones, joints, muscles, or tendons that affects mobility or a restriction in what you can do. These disabilities may be temporary or permanent and can make life difficult, which is why it’s essential to identify and treat any underlying causes as soon as possible. Here are five common causes of orthopedic disability.
Static Posture
One of many causes of orthopedic disability, bad posture can result in back and shoulder pain, among other injuries. To prevent injuries to your joints and muscles, make an effort to maintain good posture throughout your day: stand tall with your shoulders back; keep your head level as you sit; keep a firm grip on heavy objects, and make sure you’re taking regular breaks while sitting at work. Avoid slouching while sleeping or lounging around at home.
If possible, try to use ergonomic chairs designed to support correct posture. Also, consider investing in over-the-counter joint braces, body supports, and stabilizers if you think they might help relieve some discomfort associated with poor posture. Visiting an orthopedic doctor is the most convenient way to deal with posture-related pains. On the other hand, an orthopedic doctor can reach more clients by embracing SEO for orthopedics.
Bone Fractures
Bone fractures can happen in many places and in many ways including car accidents, falls, or sports injuries. These common orthopedic injuries can lead to much pain, immobility, and lasting damage if you do not seek proper medical care. If you’ve suffered a fracture or suspect that you have one now, it’s essential to know your options for treatment—talk to your orthopedic doctor today about diagnosis and treatment for fractured bones.
When a bone breaks from stress or trauma, it’s called a fracture. There are many different types of fractures, with unique signs and symptoms;
- Compression fractures (affecting carpal-palmar & femoral neck)
- Insufficiency fractures (affecting wrist & ankle)
- Impacted Stress/Shear fracture
- Depression Fractures (affecting mainly spine)
- Avulsion Fractures (fractures of the knee cap)
Frequent Overly Heavy Lifting
If you are lifting objects too heavy for you to handle regularly, then over time, your body can become less able to support its joints. Heavy lifting is likely to affect your orthopedic health through spinal injuries and other injuries. Weight lifting may affect your orthopedic health if you are a weight lifter or your job requires you to lift heavy loads more frequently or move objects that weigh more than your body can comfortably handle.
If you work in construction or any industry where heavy lifting is involved, train your body correctly and have powerful upper-body muscles. Take frequent breaks from lifting to let your body rest; otherwise, you might end up with debilitating orthopedic disabilities later in life.
According to some studies, most back injuries occur when individuals bend forward while carrying heavy loads. Avoid pulling yourself upright by curling your knees use proper weight-lifting techniques so that you don’t overload your spine and shoulder joints while performing physical labor at work.
Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis, a degenerative joint disease, is a disease that affects body joints and breaks down cartilage. Cartilage is a connective tissue that cushions and covers joints. Osteoarthritis causes swelling, stiffness, and pain at your joints over time. Being overweight may lead to osteoarthritis because your body puts more weight on the joints.
Osteoarthritis can severely affect your orthopedic health and lifestyle. To prevent it from worsening, visit your orthopedic doctor regularly for checkups and follow an exercise regimen based on your specific needs.
Sprains
A sprain may be due to a stretched or torn ligament. Sprains are often due to a fall, car accident, sports injury, or other blunt trauma. Sprains are most commonly seen in your ankle and wrist, though they can affect any joint. If you suspect you have a sprain but aren’t sure if it’s broken, your doctor will do an X-ray to look for bone damage.
If there isn’t any visible evidence of damage, your orthopedist might diagnose you with a sprain rather than a fracture. Broken bones may be visible on an X-ray before pain develops from them. So if you have injuries that don’t match up with your pain level, your orthopedic doctor may suggest getting additional imaging tests such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, or computed tomography (CT) scans.
Sprains affect your orthopedic health; a physician should constantly evaluate them. Nonsurgical treatment usually involves resting and icing the affected area. Compression can also help reduce swelling; you may need to wear an elastic wrap or brace during recovery, depending on the severity of your sprain.
Spinal Stenosis
The most common cause of orthopedic disability is spinal stenosis. Spinal stenosis, a narrowing of a vertebrae’s passageway, puts pressure on spinal cord nerves and causes pain in one or both legs. Over time, sciatica can occur when nerves pinch and irritate nearby muscles, causing symptoms such as tingling or numbness in the limbs.
Your orthopedic doctor may opt for surgery to relieve some cases of spinal stenosis by decompressing pinched nerves and adding artificial spacers such as bone grafts to keep tissue apart. Physicians may prescribe NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), muscle relaxants, or cortisone injections for more severe cases.
Conclusion
It’s essential to be aware of any orthopedic conditions that could prevent you from working as safely and effectively as possible. If you feel pain or other symptoms related to one or more causes above, contact your orthopedic doctor for a diagnosis and treatment plan. On the other end, Orthopaedic doctors should reach their clients online using effective digital marketing by contacting reputable medical digital marketers such as WebMarkets Medical Marketing.
