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Chiropractic adjustments and stretches; they go together like…. Or they should! Chiropractors recommend certain stretches to do after your chiropractic adjustments for several reasons. The most important is that they dovetail with the adjustments you’ve just had so improve your treatment outcomes. They also help your overall flexibility and alignment.
In this post we describe 3 of our favourite post-adjustment stretches: Cat/Camel; Child’s Pose, and Thread The Needle. We also discuss why chiropractors recommend stretches as part of your chiropractic care plan; and explain how a stretch – or 3 – a day keeps postural woes away.
Stretching is an important part of holistic chiropractic care. It builds on the adjustments you’ve received, consolidating them, and strengthening your muscles and tendons so they can mend faster.
Stretches are in fact something we should all do on a regular basis. Because – when we stretch correctly, several things happen:
When done regularly, stretching helps muscles and tendons become more flexible and supple. They can then extend and lengthen easily without strain or injury. This improves athletic ability and reduces injury risk.
Blood supplies muscle tissues and fibres with the nutrients and oxygen they need to function correctly and recover from stress and injury. It also removes harmful metabolic waste products, like lactic acid.
Stretching exercises improve blood circulation and facilitate quicker tissue repair and recovery. We can heal faster, and recover faster from injury. Improved blood flow also helps reduce muscle soreness and is good for our cardiovascular system in general.
Stretching helps relieve muscle tension. This has a positive cascading effect on our physical and mental health. We feel less stressed and anxious, more relaxed, and calmer, which benefits our overall health and wellbeing. Yoga stretches are a good example of how well this works.
Gentle stretching exercises are perfect for maintaining joint mobility. Again, keeping joints mobile aids your recovery and rehabilitation after chiropractic adjustments.
The best types of stretching exercises to complement chiropractic adjustments are low-impact ones that promote flexibility, strength, and stability. The 3 below are easy to do and, importantly, target different muscle groups and areas of the body.
This exercise is an oldie but a goodie, and for good reason. It is a good, and gentle, way to mobilise your spine and stretch your back and abdominal muscles.
Start out on your hands and knees. They should be placed squarely underneath your shoulders and hips respectively for good balance and even weight bearing.
Tuck your chin into your chest and arch your back upwards like a cat. Then lower your back slowly and lift your head and coccyx (tailbone) so your topline forms a concave curve.
Repeat several times, focusing on gentle stretches and smooth, controlled movements.
The Child’s Pose exercise is excellent for stretching the lower back, hip, and thigh muscles.
Kneel on the floor, and sit back on your heels. Extend your arms forward and lower your chest towards the ground (in a prayer position). Breathe deeply; hold the pose for 30 seconds to a minute, then sit up. You should be able to feel your spine gently stretching during the exercise.
Repeat several times.
Thread The Needle helps release shoulder and upper back tension.
Start on your hands and knees. Keep them placed squarely underneath your shoulders and hips respectively for balance.
Reach under your body with one arm and place it between the opposite arm and hip. Rest that now unsupported shoulder and ear on the ground, which should produce a deep stretching feeling through your upper back and shoulder. Hold the position for a few breaths, release, and repeat on the other side.
Important: Your chiropractor will recommend stretches that are beneficial for your particular circumstances. So – always talk to them before doing any of these stretches, or indeed any type of stretching exercises they haven’t specifically recommended, after your chiropractic adjustments.
In addition to complementing chiropractic adjustments, performing regular stretching exercises also assists with posture correction.
Muscle imbalances, particularly in muscles that affect spinal alignment, can play havoc with your posture. For example, if your shoulder muscles on one side are weaker or tighter than the corresponding muscles in the other shoulder, it creates an imbalance between your shoulders.
This imbalance can then affect your overall spinal alignment and thus your posture.
Regularly stretching stiff, tight, or weak muscles and tendons improves their strength and flexibility and brings them back into balance with other muscles and tendons. A balanced musculature promotes better musculoskeletal symmetry and aids in posture correction.
Incorporating stretching into your post-chiropractic adjustment routine can considerably improve the benefits of your treatment and promote better long-term musculoskeletal health.
In particular, stretches like Cat Camel, Child’s Pose, and Thread The Needle target specific muscle groups to improve and support your body’s alignment, flexibility, and overall wellbeing.
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