The Ways A Personal Injury Chiropractor Can Help You Overcome The Aftermath Of Animal Attack Injuries

Explaining Animal Attack Injuries 

With HWC-s (human-wildlife conflicts) currently on the rise due to humans encroaching into the habitat of wild animals, injuries from animal bites are becoming a growing public health concern worldwide.

Animal attacks; however, do not necessarily have to involve wildlife. Even your pet dog, cat, goat, cattle or horse can attack a human if wrongly triggered. Damages inflicted, most of the times, is proportional to the size of the animal (lions, tigers, jaguars etc.); still, it's not to say that a small animal - say, a Dachshund or a Maine Coon - can't cause crushing and tearing injuries to underlying bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments, and nerves. With horses, cattle and other medium to big-sized bovines, injuries could be more fatal and might even result in death. It’s important to note here that WM (wild mammalian) attacks are more fatal than those from DM (domesticated mammalian) attacks. 

Symptoms of trauma resulting from bites bring deformity, loss of function and the resulting pain or numbness of limbs, joints or digits. These are things that only a personal injury chiropractor can help with.

The Correct Way to Approach Animal Attack Injuries

The physical, emotional, and financial aftermath can leave animal-attack victims in a state of distress and discomfort. While immediate medical attention is often the first step in treating animal bite wounds, fractures, and other trauma, many people fail to consider the long-term rehabilitation required to recover fully.

A personal injury chiropractor specializes in treating musculoskeletal injuries caused also by animal attacks. It's an approach that improves healing beyond the initial recovery phase and brings relief from pain, deformities and immobility depending upon the severity of the injury incurred. If you or someone you know is a victim, seek a personal injury doctor for pain management, healing, rehabilitation, and to restore your emotional well-being.

What Kind of Pain Management and Relief Can be Expected from a Personal Injury Chiropractor

Animal attacks result in a wide range of injuries. These include cuts, bruises, fractures, and injuries to the soft tissues, muscles, ligaments, and nerves. These cause significant pain, discomfort and sometimes, severe infections if treatments are delayed.

While infections can be driven off within a few days or weeks, pain and discomforts can persist long after the immediate wounds heal. Chiropractic techniques are the best to alleviate such pains and help victims regain normal function. Below is a comprehensive list of what those techniques can do.

1. Spinal Adjustments:

Many animal attacks, especially those involving larger animals like dogs, horses, or wild animals, can cause trauma to the spine. Spinal misalignments (subluxations) are a common result of physical trauma and can cause nerve interference, leading to pain, numbness, or weakness. A chiropractor adjusts the spinal column correcting misalignments. In turn, it eases the pressure on the nerves (if any) and restores normal spinal function.

2. Soft Tissue Therapy:

Animal attacks often cause significant bruising, swelling, and damage to the muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Chiropractors use soft tissue therapies (e.g. massage, myofascial release, trigger point therapy etc.) to release the tightness in the muscles. These also reduce inflammations; speeds up circulation and thereby, the entire healing process.

3. Heat and Cold Therapy:

Chiropractors are well-versed in the use of heat and cold therapies to treat pain. These, too; improve blood circulation and relax the tense and strained muscle tissues.

4. Mobility and Flexibility Restoration

Animal attack injuries can cause a large range of mobility issues, from stiffness and limited range of motion to an inability to walk or move freely. Chiropractors work with patients to restore normal mobility by targeting the affected areas.

• Joint Mobilization and Manipulation:

If the injury from an animal attack results in restricted movement of the joints, chiropractors can use joint mobilization and manipulation techniques to restore proper function. For example, if a person’s shoulder is injured after being bitten or struck by an animal, the chiropractor can use targeted mobilisations to improve the joint’s entire range of motion.

• Rehabilitation through Stretching and Exercises:

A good Chiropractor will be good with customising stretching and strengthening exercises according to the need of the patient being treated. These customisations are injury-specific and allow the victim to gradually regain flexibility and muscle strength. As a result, normal movement patterns are restored with an improved balance.

• Postural Correction:

Certain animal attack cases see victims adopt abnormal postures to evade pain, which further strains the musculoskeletal system. Chiropractors can help patients develop a posture correction plan that reduces undue strain on the body and restores natural alignment.

• An Accelerated Healing 

Chiropractors not only treat the symptoms of pain and immobility but also work to accelerate the body’s natural healing process. Healing from an animal attack injury is often complicated by scar tissue, inflammation, and compromised muscle function, all of which can delay full recovery. Chiropractors use various therapies to address these issues.

Prevent Long-Term Complications from Animal Attack Injuries With the Help of a Personal Injury Chiropractor

Injuries from animal attacks can have lasting effects on a person’s health, both physical and mental. A lack of proper treatment aggravates that even further. Chiropractors focus not only on immediate recovery but also on preventing long-term complications that could arise from untreated, incorrectly-treated or not-adequately-treated injuries.

It's a holistic approach to facilitate a complete recovery from animal attack injuries, encompassing the recovery of psychological, emotional, and lifestyle impacts of trauma. This comprehensive approach greatly benefits individuals who have experienced the aftermath of an animal attack.

It's a combination of different techniques that chiropractors opt for to help victims gain their health back. With the strength and mobility restored, quality of life also returns. The role of spinal adjustments, soft tissue therapies, rehabilitation exercises, and stress management techniques for treating animal attack injuries goes far beyond simply managing pain – it’s about restoring function, promoting healing, and helping victims gain their strength, confidence,  independence and wellbeing back.