Horse Kicked Elbow

The following question was from LV: My horse kicked my elbow, resulting in decreased motion and pain. Can you help me?

I answered that, yes, chiropractic could help her situation and in fact adjusting her and giving her therapy did help her body to heal. She now reports she is back to her regular activities. Before coming to Canon City, my practice was in a Denver suburb. I am learning that farm animal-related and farm chore injuries are fairly common around here. I did some research on the subject; following are some of my findings.

The American Horse Council estimates that there are 1.9 million horse owners in the United States; 3.6 million persons are involved in showing; and 4.3 million in recreational activities. Approximately 619,400 persons are directly employed by the horse industry and of course many youth and children are involved with horses.

The cost of horse-related injuries among children and adults younger than 25 years seen in emergency departments in 1996 is estimated at over $88 million. The average cost per injury is estimated at $7,410. In 1997, an estimated 23,710 emergency department visits were made by individuals in the United States younger than 25 years as a result of horse-related injuries. The most common types of horse-related injury included contusions, fractures, and strains and involved distribution of injury to the head/neck (22%), upper body (54%), lower body (21%), and not specified (3%).

Just ask any farmer who works around livestock and he or she will most likely relate a recent incident when they slipped on a wet, sloppy surface. Unfortunately, many farmers suffer severe strains, sprains and fractures during these falls. According to recent national data, falling results in nearly one-third of all lost-time work injuries among livestock farmers in the United States. Rushing to complete chores is all too often the culprit when farmers take a nasty fall. And since many full-time farmers don't have any additional labor to pick up the slack, they have to work with the disability and injury. The young and the old alike are very prone to back injuries while performing their chores on farms in the U.S. Younger farmers may attempt to lift excessive weight and often find themselves with a sore back for days. Older farmers are prone to back injuries because they try to lift objects that were much easier to life when they were younger. Healing of a sore back among older farmers may take weeks or months if not treated by a chiropractor.

Chiropractors see patients day in and day out who have sustained sprains and strains from various injuries. In addition to adjusting patients’ backs and necks, I adjust ankles, knees, hips, wrists, elbows and shoulders.