One of the things that sets chiropractic treatment, like from the Pain Arthritis Relief Center, apart is that it is extremely individualized. Before a chiropractor can make a treatment recommendation, he or she has to see you in person and assess your state of health through physical examination and often X-rays. Therefore, it is impossible to predict exactly what treatment plan your chiropractor will recommend. Nevertheless, chances are very good that it will involve some kind of exercise and possibly at-home care as well.
Why Do Chiropractors Often Recommend Home Exercise?
Exercise helps to support the work that your chiropractor is doing during appointments by relieving tension and improving stability, strength, and flexibility. In many cases, the musculoskeletal pain you are experiencing happens because your body has gotten into the habit of poor alignment and posture. Between chiropractic appointments, it is easier for your body to slip back into those old, familiar positions. Home exercise as recommended by your chiropractor helps to bolster the work you and your chiropractor are doing during appointments and retrain your body to assume better, less painful posture.
When you experience chronic pain, you start avoiding activities that you think will provoke it out of fear. This fear-avoidance can be detrimental to your healing because lack of movement can cause muscles to atrophy. With a home exercise program carefully crafted by a chiropractor, you can strengthen muscles gradually to minimize pain. At the same time, you gain more confidence in your ability to move, overcoming fear-avoidance in the process.
What Kind of Home Exercises Do Chiropractors Recommend?
The sorts of exercise may depend on the area of pain. For example, for pain in the low back, your chiropractor may recommend extension exercises of the lumbar region, whereas neck pain may require flexion and extension exercises of the cervical spine.
In addition to relieving pain, part of the goal of chiropractic is also to improve function. Therefore, your chiropractor may recommend proprioception exercises if you have trouble with balance, for example.
What Other Types of At-Home Care Might a Chiropractor Recommend?
Exercise is an important aspect of the chiropractic home care program, but it is not the only part. Chiropractic is holistic, so your chiropractor may also recommend other home care to benefit the whole body:
- Heel lifts or foot orthotics for your shoes
- Nutritional supplements
- Heat or ice, possibly in combination, for pain relief
Chiropractic care is an investment, partly in terms of money but more so in terms of time and effort. A chiropractor can show you what you stand to gain from it, but you also have to commit to putting the work into it.
