Chiropractors

How do we know we are healthy? We feel good, yesbut we also feel that our bodies are functioning at an optimal level. We can move in many different ways without pain or difficulty. We breathe fully; we have the strength to take on our daily tasks. We sleep deeply and digest our food easily and well. We adapt to our surroundings and to the stresses and strains of everyday life with ease. To maintain health, all the systems of our bodies must be functioning properly. And one of the best ways to increase our level of function is with regular exercise.

Were sure you've read over and over again about the benefits of aerobic exercise to your cardiovascular system, and how weight training can increase muscle tone and even bone density (a special concern for women as they age). You've probably heard how exercise can improve digestion, elimination, respiration, and lymph flow, and increase the efficiency of almost every single organ in the body. So were not going to focus on any of those well-proven results. Instead, we want to talk about how certain forms of exercise can provide some surprising benefits to the health and functioning of your central nervous system.

The spinal cord is surrounded by the vertebrae, which are supported by a complex interrelated system of soft tissues, including cartilage, muscles, ligaments, and tendons. Now, like all muscles, those surrounding and supporting the spine (many of which are grouped under the term postural muscles) can become weakened through disuse or strained through misuse. If you've ever had the unpleasant experience of pulling a muscle in your back, you know what we mean!

It used to be that if someone complained of back pain, the recommended course of treatment was complete bed rest for several weeks. This prescription has been completely reversed in recent years, as evidence has continued to mount that mild exercise helps to reduce the chronicity (that is, the severity and recurrence) of back pain in most patients. Even conventional medical doctors now agree that patients with back pain should be encouraged to keep moving and even do some gentle exercise as quickly as possible.

Chiropractors have long been interested in the effect of exercise on back pain, and there have been numerous studies done on the effectiveness of exercise, spinal adjustment, or a combination of the two in eliminating back pain and restoring health. Researchers have found that the right kind of exercise combined with a regular program of spinal adjustment is the most effective treatment for restoring optimal functioning to the body, far exceeding the results of exercise or adjustment alone.

When a patient with acute pain goes to the chiropractor, hes not going to give the patient exercises right away. First they need to stabilize the subluxation and get the muscles moving properly again. Once the soft tissue surrounding the vertebrae has had a chance to heal and things are relatively stable againand the patient is out of acute painthen the chiropractor suggests the introduction of some functional exercises or increasing the activity level. Remember, chiropractic care is about restoring the fullest range of motion possible, and the only way to do that is for the muscles themselves to support the vertebrae as they twist and turn.

By the way, if someone has pain in the lower back, he or she usually thinks it's a result of weak abdominal muscles. But research has shown that the muscles in the front of the stomach have very little to do with chronic back pain. With chronic back pain, the muscles that are the most involved are the extensorsthe ones that make us arch our back backward. So again, the cure for back pain is to build and strengthen the muscles that support the back and spine.