Have you ever wondered how to get the absolute most out of your chiropractic adjustments? While chiropractic care is consistently shown to provide better pain relief and improve functionality than other therapies, there is an important caveat. When you combine chiropractic care and exercise, you take your healing and health to a whole new level.
In this article, we will dive deep into the science of joint movement, the neurological connection between your joints and your brain, and how marrying adjustments with simple exercises gives you the ultimate “bang for your buck”.
The Mechanics of a Joint: Why Motion is Life
To understand why exercise and adjustments are a perfect match, we must first look at what happens inside your joints.
When a joint is moving properly, it acts like a pump:
- Opening up: When a joint opens, it draws vital nutrients inside.
- Closing down: When a joint closes, it pushes waste products out.
Ultimately, this pumping motion is essential for joint health. As soon as you take that pumping motion away, inflammatory waste products build up inside the joint. Consequently, this buildup leads to joint irritation, structural breakdown, and pain over time.
Additionally, when you stop moving a joint, the muscles attaching to that joint naturally tighten up as well. Chiropractic care works by restoring proper motion to these restricted areas, opening the joint back up, and restarting that essential pumping mechanism.
The Neurological Connection: Motion is Food for Your Brain
While relieving joint pressure and muscle tightness is important, it is not actually the most critical part of joint movement.
The most important aspect of movement is neurological. As you move your body, a vast network of motion receptors sends continuous signals directly up to your brain. This neurological feedback gives your brain a clear, real-time map of your physical environment.
Furthermore, the more movable joints you have, the more stimulation your brain receives. Specifically, this is why exercise is so powerful:
- It sends a massive wave of stimulation to your brain.
- It increases vital blood flow to keep brain tissue healthy.
- It supports overall cognitive wellness.
Conversely, when you lose joint motion, you deprive your brain of this essential stimulation.
The Power of Integration: Why Adjustments and Exercise Must Marry
This is where the magic of combining chiropractic care and exercise truly shines. When we add exercise into the mix after restoring joint motion, we are not just increasing brain stimulation – we are integrating the entire nervous system.
By moving adjusted joints through physical exercise, we force multiple joints to fire simultaneously. This gives the brain richer sensory information, which ultimately leads to:
- Better body coordination
- Enhanced physical stability
- Reduced risk of future injury
Without this coordination, your muscles cannot fire in harmony. Consequently, when you go to pick something up, you lose stability and easily end up with an injury.
The Surprising Power of “Baby Steps” (and Crawling!)
Integrating your nervous system does not require an intense, grueling workout. In fact, it can be incredibly simple. It can be as easy as using these three simple integration exercises:
- Walking: A natural, rhythmic way to coordinate the body.
- Balance Work: Excellent for stimulating motion receptors and fine-tuning coordination.
- Crawling: Though it sounds unusual for adults, crawling is an incredibly important movement for brain integration.
Crawling requires both sides of the brain to coordinate and work together. While crawling has unfortunately been removed from some childhood developmental milestone lists – which is highly counterproductive – it remains a fundamental movement for academic success, focus, behavioral success, and goal-reaching.
Avoid the “Sit-at-Home” Trap
If you are getting adjusted but ignoring your stretches and exercises, or if you get adjusted and immediately go home to sit on the couch, you are limiting your recovery.
While adjustments alone decrease pain and improve function, marrying them with exercise gives you far superior results. It bridges your joints, your muscles, and your brain together, maximizing your body’s natural ability to function at its peak.
Are you ready to take your recovery to the next level? Speak with us about integrating simple movement patterns into your care plan today!
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