Shoulder Pain and Auto Injury

We work with many car accident cases in in our Portland office, and a widespread symptom we see in our patients is shoulder pain. Let's take a look at why shoulder pain is frequently experienced after an auto injury and see how chiropractic care can help you heal.

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

Direct trauma can be caused by striking 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 impact. With this type of injury, you'll usually be aware of the pain shortly after the crash.

More commonly, Dr. Helton finds that shoulder or arm pain does not immediately appear after a crash, but begins a few days or weeks after the trauma. This type of shoulder discomfort actually starts in the cervical spine. Injured soft tissue in your spine can pinch nerves in your neck, causing numbness, tingling, or soreness in your shoulder, elbow, or wrist.

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

You don't have to suffer from shoulder pain. Dr. Helton is conveniently located in Portland to help you recover, whether you've been in an auto collision or not. First, we'll do a careful assessment to figure out the root cause of your problem, and then decide how to restore your body's natural functioning. Call us today at (503) 771-1974 if you have questions or would like to make an appointment.