Avoiding Slip and Fall Injuries While Walking On Snow and Ice

Avoiding Slip and Fall Injuries While Walking On Snow and Ice

As a Baltimore Chiropractor that spends most of my time treating headaches, neck pain, and back pain, one of the more common causes of these injuries that I come across is slips and falls. Whether those be slips and falls that occur at a business or whether someone falls down their stairs or slips on a side walk, we see a lot of traumatic injuries. It is often said that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” While the staff at Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic would be happy to take care of you if you are injured due to a slip and fall injury in Baltimore, we would rather you avoid these injuries in the first place. They often take weeks if not months to completely recover from, so it is best that they be avoided if at all possible. Here are some tips to keep in mind in order to help minimize or prevent Baltimore slip and fall injuries:

1. Wear appropriate clothing – Where boots or footwear that provide for appropriate traction. Remember, function is more important than style! Consider wearing a heavy coat not only to keep you warm but to cushion your fall should you fall down. Consider wearing sunglasses during the day to help cut down on blinding sunlight reflecting off of the snow and ice. Whenever possible where reflective clothing to help alert other drivers and walkers to your presence.

2. Always assume there is black ice – Never rush while walking and always assume that whether you can see it or not that there is black ice under your feet. This will prevent you from rushing. Always walk in designated areas and use hand rails whenever possible.

3. Keep your hands out of your pockets – While it is cold we tend to keep our arms close by our side. We should avoid this and keep our arms out to brace ourselves if we fall. I would much rather cushion my fall with my hands/arms than to hit my head on a side walk and get a concussion!

4. When getting into and out of vehicles – Use the vehicles for support. Transitioning between levels (sidewalk versus a car or van) can be tricky and injuries usually occur when changing surfaces.

5. Take short steps – Although it looks silly, always take short steps and shuffle your feet. This prevents you from building up too much momentum that may make it harder to stop down the road.

6. Beware of overhead hazards – As ice and snow melts from homes and businesses it is not unusual for large sheets of ice to come crashing down. These can cause serious injury. So, as always, be aware of your surroundings.

A winter coating of snow and ice can be a great break from the daily grind and it can be a lot of fun to take a day or two away from work to be with friends and family. However, there are many potential hazards around each corner. My best advice is to take plenty of time when getting from one place to another and to be careful. Should the unthinkable happen and you injure yourself in a slip and fall accident, please contact Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic at (443) 842-5500. We would be happy to help!

Dr. Gulitz

Chiropractic Care and New Years Resolutions

It’s been a whirlwind of a new year at Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic. We’ve been working really hard at better organizing our staff and our office to better host and treat patients. That is, we made it our new years resolution to be more accommodating, more friendly, and more transparent in our rendering of Chiropractic care in Baltimore City. We think that this will help us provide better care to those in need.

While it always a good idea if you are a patient to contact your insurance company and check if you are covered for a benefit/procedure, it’s been my experience that that rarely, if ever occurs. Typically a patient walks into an office, pays a copay, gets a procedure (in this care chiropractic care) and leaves. Weeks if not months pass by and then a patient gets the dreaded EOB (explanation of benefits) in the mail. They try and understand what additional money, if any, they owe. They either then do, or do not pay their required portion (as required by their insurance companies contract). Typically it is at this point in the exchange of money for healthcare services that patients feel confused and tricked. They often don’t understand if or why they owe additional money for a service they already received. It places a significant strain on the doctor/patient relationship.

While this is the way that most offices have been conducting business we have decided to make things easier. Prior to presenting for a new patient evaluation my staff will contact your insurance company on your behalf. By the time you arrive for your visit you will know your copay, your deductible, your coinsurance, and how much you should expect to pay out of pocket per visit. While this may be overwhelming (after all, you are coming to our office to feel better from headaches, neck pain, or back pain) we have found that many patients appreciate the open discussion. They would much rather know their “true cost” than get a letter in the mail down the road that surprises them, or that they are unable to pay. We believe that this up front transparency can help ease the tension associated with trying a new office for a first time.

Further, if someone is injured in a Baltimore auto accident and has suffered from whiplash, headaches, neck pain, and/or lower back pain, we need to only know your auto insurance carrier’s name (i.e. Nationwide, State Farm, Erie, Allstate, etc), policy number, date of birth and social security number. We can help to open a PIP claim on your behalf and have you receiving treatment for your Baltimore auto accident injury without any money out of pocket. Alternatively, if you have already opened a PIP claim followed your Baltimore auto accident, just supply us with a claim number and we can get you started receiving treatment right away.

We are making an effort to lessen the confusion surrounding payment for chiropractic services in the Baltimore area.

As far as new year’s resolutions are concerned – if you are a “resolutioner” and have decided to get back into shape or to get of of the couch here are some good tips:

1. Get clearance from your primary care provider – If you have serious health conditions check with your PCP first to make sure that it is safe for you to exercise.

2. Stretch – Don’t forget to stretch prior to engaging in exercises. You don’t want to overdue it and be out of service before you get started.

3. Set a routine – Whether you like to exercise in the morning or the evening, try and set a routine. After about 3 weeks of a new activity it becomes a habit. Habits are tough to break.

4. A journey of a thousand miles – It was once said that a journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step. So start slow, maybe exercising 2-3 times per week and as you improve you can exercise longer or more times per week. The key is just starting.

5. If you have neck or back pain, come see your Baltimore city chiropractors Dr. Marc Gulitz and Dr. Erica Wise. We routinely treat patients with sports injuries, auto accidents, work related injuries, or other various types of headaches, neck pain, and back pain. We hope we don’t need to see you, but if you need us, we will be here.

If you, or someone you know, would benefit from Chiropractic care for headaches, neck pain, or back pain, please contact Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic at (443) 842-5500. We would be happy to help!

Dr. Gulitz

What Happens During My First Visit To A Baltimore Chiropractor?

As a Baltimore Chiropractor, I often meet people in my everyday life who have never been to a chiropractor. Sure, they might understand a little bit about what Chiropractic is or what spinal manipulation is, but they do not know what to expect. Often I hear when a patient shows up “Wow, this was way more medical than I expected!” I suppose I am not sure what it is that they are expecting. So rather than explain the “first visit” to everyone individually, I thought I might write a small blog post about what happens when you arrive for your first visit.

As with any doctors office, the first thing a patient (or perspective patient) does when they get to the office is to sign in with the receptionist. The receptionist will greet them and then hand them some standard paperwork to fill out. This paperwork, just like in your primary care doctors office, records your past medical history, current presenting illness/injury, insurance information, and many standard pieces of medical literature such as informed consent, and HIPAA privacy documents. Most patients can complete the new patient paperwork in about 15 minutes. As such we ask most patients to arrive about 15 minutes prior to their appointment so that they can fill out all of their paperwork and be seen promptly. In addition to filling out paperwork the receptionist will make a copy of your driver’s license and any applicable insurance cards. At this point the receptionist will figure out what the patient’s financial responsibility for the appointment will be. We prefer that patients give us some time to do this on their behalf, because there are TONS of different plans and it is not always quick and easy for us to get information. Most patients who have private health insurance have a copay and/or deductible that applies to chiropractic care. We prefer to have an open an honest discussion with patients about their degree of financial responsibility prior to beginning treatment. That way, there are no surprises when the insurance EOB comes.

Once the paperwork has been filled out to completion the receptionist creates a physical chart for the patient. The charts is placed in the new patient examination room for the Baltimore Chiropractor to review. It is said that medical history makes up 80 % of a diagnosis and I believe that to be true. By the time I have a patient walk down the hall to my new patient examination room I already have a good understanding of what their physical ailments are, why they are here, and whether or not I expect to be able to help them.

I have a patient sit down and explain to me what brings them in: What hurts? How did it start hurting? Have they ever been injured before? How did they improve last time? How did they hear about us? What questions or concerns they might have with chiropractic care. The list of questions that I ask is usually much longer, but for the sake of simplicity, let’s just say that make sure that I understand what their issue is before proceeding.

Now comes the physical examination. I perform a standard neuromusculoskeletal examination on all patients. This helps me to assess the degree of their injury, to determine if x-rays are required, and to confirm my working diagnosis. I also perform a standard physical examination where I record height, weight, and vital signs.

Once I have a good working diagnosis for an injury, we begin some some physical therapy modalities. This is where my clinic is different than most chiropractor’s clinics. Many of the other Baltimore Chiropractors like to have a patient return to the office before beginning treatment to give the impression that they are really thinking hard about what is wrong and whether or not they can help. I don’t like sending patients that are in pain away from the office – I want to give them what they came for – pain relief!

After the patient has received some modalities to help soothe and break up muscle spasms, we usually progress to a chiropractic adjustment room where I render spinal manipulation, or “back cracking” for the layman. I give patients some at-home instructions, provide them with an ice pack to control post-treatment soreness, and we schedule a follow up appointment to monitor their response to treatment. I do not provide long term treatment plans, nor do I require patients to pre-pay for their care. I take each injury and each treatment “a day at a time”.

If you have been considering making an appointment with Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic but have been hesistant to because you did not know what to expect on a first visit, I hope that this blog post shed a little light on the subject for you. Keep in mind, if I do not think that I can help you for your particular condition I will let you know and will help steer you in the right direction. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by just asking questions.

Dr. Gulitz

Car Accidents with Reindeer?

As a Baltimore Chiropractor that spends the majority of my time treating patients involved in motor vehicle collisions such as car accidents, bus accidents, motorcycle accidents, and pedestrian injuries, I can honestly say that I have never in my life encountered a patient who was injured in a Baltimore auto accident by colliding with a reindeer. That seems to make sense since as far I know there are no reindeer around Baltimore City, except maybe at the zoo for Christmas. Where I grew up in New York we would hear about auto accidents involving “regular” deer all the time. But it Baltimore that does not appear to be a major concern.

Having said that I was curious if there was any place in the world where there were recorded instances of motor vehicle collisions versus reindeer. As it turns out, there is!

In Norway it is estimated that there are approximately 200,000 wild reindeer that inhabit the land. They blend in with their natural habitat, making it difficult to spot them in the dark. It is estimated that approximately 2,000 of these reindeer are injured or killed each year when they are struck by snowmobiles and motor vehicles in Norway. Who knows how many whiplash injuries human occupants sustain in this reindeer crashes each year.

Interesting, as recently as the year 2010 the people of Norway have begun to spray paint the antlers of the reindeer with reflective coating to help cut down on the instances of reindeer vs. motor vehicle collisions. It is a small test study but so far it appears to be cutting down on the number of car accidents with reindeer.

So while these may not be a big risk in the Baltimore metropolitan area, it does raise a good point: Always make sure to keep your eyes on the road because you never know what may be there. Oh, and for those coding nerds out there…there is an ICD-10 diagnosis code for motor vehicle collision vs. a reindeer. This would fall under the codes V40.5xxA – car driver injured in collision with animal in traffic accident.

So especially this week when extra reindeer are flying around and dropping off presents keep your eyes on the road. Dr. Gulitz and the team at Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic want to wish everyone a Merry Chistmas and a happy and healthy holiday season. We look forward to seeing you all in the new year!

Dr. Gulitz

Inversion Traction for Lower Back Pain Following Baltimore Car Accidents

As a Baltimore Chiropractor that spends the majority of my time treating Baltimore auto accident patients, I often see a lot of patients with lower back pain. Whether it is a rear-end auto accident, side swipe, T-bone, or head-on collision, lower back pain is a very common symptom following Baltimore auto accidents. People tend to think of Chiropractors as “back crackers.” Which, lets face it, we are. In addition to spinal manipulation of the lumbar spine for lower back pain following Baltimore auto accidents, we have a lot of other tools to help loosen up stiff joints and tight spasmodic muscles.

Typically patients with lower back pain following Baltimore auto accidents receive electrical muscle stimulation and some form of traction therapy, in the form of either intersegmental traction and/or mechanical traction. Previous blog posts on these topics can be found on my website.

I recently had a conversation with a patient who was asking me about the appropriateness of inversion traction for lower back pain following his Baltimore car accident. Inversion traction is a device where patients lay on a flat surface and slowly invert (turn upside down) their body. It attempts to reverse the effects of gravity and to decrease the compression on the lumbar spine. For some patients, it is a god send. They lay on the table for about 10-15 minutes at a time 1-2 times per day and they note a dramatic improvement in their lower back discomfort. As with most pieces of medical equipment, some are better than others. The late night infomercial traction tables show people hanging upside down until they are perpendicular to the floor. That is dangerous! Patients should only go about 30 degrees below the horizontal line so as to not have too much blood rush to their head. While I do not currently offer inversion traction in my clinic, I am going to purchase one shortly to help patients make the decision as to whether or not it is something that they want to try at home on their own.

Not everyone is in favor of inversion traction to treat lower back pain following Baltimore auto accidents. Opponents of inversion traction therapy state that it does not offer long term relief of lower back pain. Cardiologists suggest that inversion caused the heart beat to slow, blood to rush to the head and neck, and increased intraocular pressure. For patients with high blood pressure, heart disease, or glaucoma inversion traction could cause health effects such as heart attack, stroke or death.

As with most rehabilitation following a Baltimore auto accident, you should always consult with a professional before doing anything on your own. Provided that you do not have high blood pressure, it is reasonable to try inversion traction to help with mechanical lower back pain following your Baltimore auto accident induced lower back pain. If that does not work for you there are plenty of other treatment modalities that we offer that can help to provide relief.

If you have any questions about lower back pain following a Baltimore auto accident, please contact Mid-Atlantic Spinal Rehab & Chiropractic at (443) 842-5500. We would be happy to help.

Dr. Gulitz