If you experience aches and pains in your joints from working out, or even a sedentary desk job, you've likely heard you should visit a chiropractor. But what is chiropractic treatment? And how does it help your pain?
The Chiropractic Adjustment
The adjustment is a manual technique that manipulates the joints in your body to reduce pain and improve joint alignment to enhance the function of your body. While people typically think of chiropractic adjustments for the back and neck, a chiropractor can manipulate all joints from your jaw to your ankle.
We typically encourage anyone struggling with tightness, stiffness, or decreased range of motion get an adjustment, as it is one of the fastest ways to improve the motion in a joint.
Are Adjustments the Only Treatment Chiropractors Offer?
While adjustments are a big part of chiropractic, there are many other treatments and services a chiropractor can offer to help with pain. For example, at Fuerza, Dr. Jose offers:
Dry Needling: the insertion of thin needles into trigger points to alleviate muscle tightness and facilitate a healing response.
Acupuncture: a traditional Chinese medicine where thin needles are placed along meridians to balance chi and alleviate pain.
Muscle Scraping: the use of instruments to provide deep tissue massage to alleviate muscle tightness.
Cupping: a decompression therapy to decrease tightness and increase blood flow to an injured area.
Stretching and Massage: manual techniques used to stretch the muscles and provide relaxation to alleviate pain and improve movement.
Corrective Exercise: rehab exercises are used to maintain progress made during the visit and decrease risk of injury in the long term.
How Long Do the Effects of an Adjustment Last?
You should feel like you're moving better immediately after an adjustment for at least a few days, and as long as several weeks. One of the best things you can do to keep the effects of your treatment lasting as long as possible is to follow the exercise plan given to you. The adjustment can give you more mobility, but if you return to the same habits without incorporating the recommended exercises, the result will be years of care without true improvement.
How Do I Know If an Adjustment Is Safe For Me?
Your chiropractor will perform a thorough screening and assessment prior to your adjustment to ensure you are a safe candidate for an adjustment. They will not perform an adjustment if they do not think it is safe. That being said, adjustments work best if you are able to relax during the treatment, as guarded muscles are likely to result in increased soreness afterward. Thus, if you have any apprehension communicate with you provider, and if you decide you'd prefer not to have an adjustment they can use one of their many other methods for pain relief.
How Does Chiropractic Treatment Help Athletic Performance?
From the adjustment itself to the muscle work and corrective exercises, chiropractic care immensely helps athletic performance. When you are trying to train and compete at your best, recovery should be the most important part of your routine to avoid injury. By seeing a chiropractor regularly you can reduce the stress and muscle tension in the body, allowing the body to recover and perform at its best.
We typically recommend people come in more regularly as training ramps up before a competition. When you increase your training volume, you are at a higher risk of an overuse injury. By being proactive about recovery during heavy training cycles, you can reduce that risk and feel your best during your competition.
Questions About How Fuerza Can Help You?