What should you do if you are unable to get an appointment

Most of the time, it is very easy to schedule with us. We are open six days a week. You can call our office or schedule online. Most of the time we can get you in pretty quickly, we can usually get you in the same day or the next. However, lets say that you have an issue that comes up on a Sunday that we are closed, or if we are out on vacation. Lets talk about some things that you can do at home to help yourself until you can an appointment.

The two most common things that we see in our office are back pain and neck pain. So, let's say you have an acute onset of back pain or neck pain, and you call us, and you are unable to get in right away. First, if it is an emergency, go straight to the emergency department. But we are assuming this is not an emergency, and this is something you can work on at home on your own. Let's talk about those things that you can do on your own. First is stretch. Most of the time if you have a new painful condition your muscles may be contracted. Let's say someone is going to punch you in the arm. What are you going to do? You're going to contract and protect. So, your muscles are all going to be contracted. Same thing happens with neck pain or back pain, those muscles contract. So, it is a good idea to try to stretch and loosen those muscle groups out.

Another option to use at home is the foam roller. You can use this on the outer hip muscles or the lower back muscles. For the neck tension, you can use tennis ball or racquetball and try to roll out some tension in the muscle groups in the neck. Another option at home would be the percussion massager. These are pretty inexpensive now, so they are a good tool to have at home. You can use these on the upper shoulders in the neck or the lower back and the hips. There are a lot of good uses for the percussion massager. Another great option to have at home is a very strong topical analgesic, like CryoDerm. We use this in our office, and it helps to relieve pain right on the spot.

Lastly, if you cannot get in for a chiropractic appointment, please ask if we have any massages available. We have two Licensed Massage Therapist in the office four days a week. Sometimes a half an hour or hour massage can make a huge difference. I hope you found our tips helpful today. Again, these are general recommendations so please check with your healthcare provider before you try any of these tips that we were recommending today. We look forward to seeing you in the office soon.