Written by Dr. James Mayne, DC ~ Vernon Chiropractor

As Vernon chiropractors, we hear this question from a lot of our patients. While not everyone is the same, here is a general rule of thumb to help a person get over an injury faster.

If you felt your back “pop,” coming in sooner than later is best. Chiropractic treatments can get the bones back into position. This can help alleviate muscle spasms and pain as your body does its best to keep you together as you go about your day. The sooner you are back in position, the better.

If you lifted something heavy and strained your back, I recommend giving it a day or two. If the muscle has a minor strain you will generally know in a day or so if it will just work its way out. If pain persists beyond that time frame, come in and we will work on the soft tissues and joints, which will help speed up the healing process and get you over your injury sooner. Now, if it’s a major strain that is keeping you from work, family or fun, you may want to address it sooner.

Let’s say you “slept funny” and your neck went out. This should not be happening if there is nothing wrong with your neck. If it does happen, there are some joints and muscles in the neck or upper back that are not working properly, which is likely causing undue stress on other joints that are getting sore when you are sleeping. The sooner you come in, the sooner we can assess the problem and find a way to manage the problem. In reality, it would have been best to come in before you slept funny as this is a complaint that comes along after something is wrong.

My least favourite is “I’ve popped out a rib.” This is one of the most painful problems since we never stop breathing (at least I hope not), so the rib is constantly moving and in pain. My advice is to get in ASAP.  A rib that is "out" interferes with sleep, with work, with family time. The sooner it is dealt with, the sooner it can calm down and settle back in position, but this is not always an easy journey.

I suppose that, in summary, the sooner you come in, the quicker your recovery. If you are in doubt, give the office a call and we can do an evaluation and decide how to proceed together. We are open Monday to Saturday to help with your neck and back issues. We can’t wait to see how we can help you.