Chiropractic Care for Fractured Spine and Chronic Pain Recovery

This podcast episode features Dr. Sten Ekberg and his patient, Leslie, discussing her journey from chronic daily discomfort to recovering from a severe spinal fracture through chiropractic care. Leslie, an active individual over 50 who runs a horse farm, initially sought treatment for shoulder and neck pain, experiencing significant relief, increased range of motion, and the ability to perform heavy manual labor without discomfort. Her initial success highlights the efficacy of chiropractic in managing chronic pain and improving physical function.

Leslie then recounts a severe incident involving a horse, resulting in an avulsion fracture of three lumbar vertebrae, where the transverse processes were ripped off. She describes this as the most intense pain she had ever experienced. Crucially, her emergency room doctor, demonstrating an open-minded approach, encouraged her to continue with chiropractic care, leading her to visit Dr. Ekberg's office within 48 hours of the injury, challenging the common misconception that chiropractic is unsuitable for severe bone fractures.

Dr. Ekberg clarifies that while chiropractors do not adjust broken bones, their role in such cases is to address the secondary issues arising from the injury, such as bleeding, swelling, inflammation, nerve pressure, and reflex spasms. By providing gentle stimulation, chiropractic care helps to "clean up the chaos" by restoring nervous system signaling and muscle function, thereby facilitating the body's natural healing processes. Leslie's rapid recovery, returning to pre-injury activities within a month, serves as a powerful testament to this approach.

The discussion underscores that chiropractic is not merely about "cracking bones" but fundamentally about stimulating the nervous system, which can have profound and unexpected effects on overall health and recovery. Leslie emphasizes the subtle nature of Dr. Ekberg's adjustments, describing them as gentle touches and slight pressure, often performed in a standing position to accommodate her discomfort, further illustrating a patient-centered and nuanced approach to care that extends beyond traditional perceptions of chiropractic manipulation.

"initially it was just day-to-day discomfort I'm a very active lifestyle I do a lot of physical activity we run a horse farm and I take care of the lion's share of the heavy duty around the farm"

"I was able to lift large objects over my head with no pain at all"

"I actually had a bit of a severe injury where I had an avulsion fracture of three lumbar vertebrae where the transfer processes were sort of ripped off the vertebrae itself"

"probably the most intense pain that I felt ever"

"most people would think when you break your back the last place you want to go is the chiropractor"

"I am at this point I am fine I am back to my pre-injury activities"

"we would never adjust the broken bones but when you have broken bones you have bleeding and swelling and inflammation that that create most of the pain and the issues that you have"

"chiropractic is not just cracking bones it's it's about stimulating the nervous system and it can have really far-reaching effects on things that people don't expect"

"I would just reiterate how subtle your adjustments were and you know when me and I think of the word and some of the definition of adjustments and it isn't necessarily an adjustment that we would understand it was more the the touch and and the slight slight pressure"