At the Accident Recovery Center we pride ourselves with the very latest state of the art equipment to aid in our patients recovery after a car accident. We want to help as many people as possible get better without the use of dangerous drugs or surgery whether they have been in an accident, or pulled their back lifting something heavy. Natural pain relief happens in the office and outside of the office. Patients of the Accident Recovery Center are instructed on the proper technique and execution of home exercises, and they are often given a pain relieving support system to be used as a natural, non habit forming, means to pain relief. The system includes an ergonomic cervical pillow, an ergonomic lumbar pillow, biofreeze, and an ice/heat pack.
The cervical (neck) pillow is specially formulated to keep the patients head in the proper supporting posture at night when they lay down to rest. The pillow has an indentation in the middle to comfortably cradle a persons head and the four sides of the pillow are different heights to accommodate people of different sizes and sleeping styles. Having your head in the right position for 6-10 hours while sleeping is extremely important because it helps the restoration and preservation of proper spinal curvature. It also helps to prevent contracture, a condition of muscle spasm due to the shortening on one side of the paraspinal musculature and lengthening on the other side of the paraspinal musculature due to poor sleep posture.
The lumbar (low back) pillow is specially constructed to encourage proper posture while sitting. The majority of people slouch in their seats at work, at home, and in the car. Our lumbar pillows encourage proper posture by putting the proper curvature in the low back. Proper curvature (posture) in the lower spinal area is very important because it takes pressure off of the spinal discs in the low back. Spinal discs are responsible for providing cushioning for the vertebrae (spinal bones). The more pressure over time (especially if the spine is stressed from an accident) be more likely it is to break down leading to things like herniated disks, arthritis, and stenosis.
Ice/Heat packs are important throughout a patients treatment. After an initial acute incident that causes pain ( ie. car accident) swelling and inflammation occurs. One of the most effective anti-inflammatory aids is ice, it naturally constricts blood vessels and pushes the swelling/inflammation down. Heat is used once the inflammation has decreased but the person still has very tight muscles. The moist heat dilates the blood vessels allowing blood to circulate freely bringing fresh blood and nutrients to the muscle while the moisture penetrates and allows the muscle to relax.
Biofreeze is another important natural pain relieving aid we make available to our patients. Biofreeze is a gel that can be applied directly to the muscles. The gel relaxes the muscle, increases circulation, and has a numbing affect. Biofreeze can be conveniently applied anytime and is great for providing comfort so people can get the quality sleep they need to recover.
Yours in health,
Dr. Ryan Giel
