Shoulder Pain and Car Crashes

We treat many car accident cases in in our Harrisburg office, and a widespread symptom we see in our patients is shoulder pain. Chiropractic can be very helpful for shoulder pain symptoms after a crash. Let's see what causes shoulder pain and why chiropractic works.

There are at least two ways that you can develop shoulder pain after a crash: by direct injury to the shoulder joint or by referred pain from the neck.

Direct injury can be caused by hitting your shoulder on a hard surface in the car during the crash, or can occur if you have a tight grip on the steering wheel during a rear end collision. With this type of trauma, you'll often be aware of the pain soon after the wreck.

More commonly, Dr. Blake finds that shoulder or arm pain doesn't immediately appear after a crash, but begins a few days or weeks after the trauma. This type of shoulder pain actually starts in the neck. Injured ligaments or muscles in your neck can pinch nerves in your neck, causing tingling, numbness, or pain in your shoulder, elbow, or wrist.

We've treated both kinds of shoulder pain in our Harrisburg office. This care involves chiropractic adjustments to restore your spine's natural flexibility and exercises that strengthen your neck and shoulder.

Dr. Blake has been helping patients in Harrisburg since 1983, so we know what you're going through. We're here to help you, too. The first step is to get an accurate diagnosis to determine what's causing your pain and then we will determine an appropriate treatment plan of action. Ready to make an appointment? Give us a call at (717) 657-2561 and we'll get you back on the road to health.