5 Things You Need To Know To Speed Up Recovery and Prevent Re-Injury

So you've decided to take the first step to recovery and get Chiropractic treatment. AWESOME! Chiropractic is one of the most effective (and cost effective) treatments for musculo-skeletal disorders on the planet! Pair that with massage therapy, and you have the secret one-two punch formula to stop any aches and pains in their tracks!

Proper corrective Chiropractic care takes an investment not only in terms of money, but also in time. No doubt you'll want to maximize the efficacy of your treatments to not only speed up your recovery and healing, but also prevent re-injuries in the future. So, what some things you can do at home or even at work to maximize your Chiropractic Care and fortify your body?

Stretching & Exercise Rehabilitation

If you've been dealing with a musculo-skeletal issue off and on for a good while, there's a good chance you'll need some rehab to help strengthen the areas you struggle with the most. What happens is, when you have a bone that is misaligned a whole list of domino effects can come in to play.

Our bodies are great adapters. So when a bone or joint is misaligned it can stretch or constrict the soft tissue surrounding it. What happens when you adjust it back into proper alignment? The soft tissue sometimes has a hard time adjusting with it. So what happens? The soft tissue pulls it right back to where it's used to being, out of alignment. (This is why massage is such a great compliment to Chiropractic care, easing that tension in the muscles and surrounding soft tissue so that it adapts back into proper alignment.)

What can help prevent this from happening? Specific, daily exercise and stretching routines.

There are a number of different exercises and stretches you can do, many of which you can do just about anywhere. The point of these activities is to:

1️⃣ Loosen the soft tissue and ease tension

2️⃣ Increase Mobility in the joints

3️⃣ Strengthen the soft tissue to hold the skeletal system in its proper place

For low-back pain, we love these simple exercises and stretches:

For neck pain, this video shows excellent low-impact ways to strengthen the neck:

As you continue to get your adjustments, these exercises and stretches will amplify the benefits you see each visit and will fortify you once you reach the wellness phase of your care.

Diet

Many people know that eating healthy is good for you, but most don't know why and what foods are best to reach specific health goals. Did you know? The BBC reported on a study by Barcelona's Institute for Bioengineering. The study found that there was a direct link between back pain and other spinal disorders (such as degenerated discs) and mal-nutrition. Indicating that diet can even contribute to preventing injury.

During your Chiropractic treatment, you'll want to focus on foods that are good for building the body up like protein, healthy fats, anti-oxidants and glucose; and decreasing things that tear us down like inflammation and degeneration.

Check out this illustration for a list of foods that fight inflammation vs foods that cause it ↗↗↗↗↗↗↗↗↗↗↗↗↗↗↗↗↗↗↗↗↗↗↗↗↗↗↗↗↗↗↗from Harvard Health Publishing.

Have a tough time getting specific nutrients in your normal diet? Dr Brannon can help you find food based supplement products that will help you accomplish your dietary health goals.

Topical Treatments and Support

There are many topical options available that can help with:

✅ Healing

✅ Support

✅ Mobility

These options can include:

RockTape or any other kinesiology tape

- Kinesiology tape products not only provide a way to support a muscle or joint, but they also promote additional blood flow to the application area as well as provide an extra sensory response bringing additional mental awareness to the area that bases itself in confidence of support instead of fear of injury.

Rock Sauce Fire/ Ice

- These products contain distractants that re-direct the pain response as well as a number of natural healing components including aloe, arnica, calendula, burdock root, boswellia, green tea extract, lemon balm, and vitamin E.

Ice or Heat Compress

- Ice should be used in situations where inflammation is present and will help bring inflammation down (cold=vaso-constrictor). Heat should be applied in situations where soft-tissue is tight and needs to be relaxed (heat=vaso-dilator). Heat should not be used where inflammation is present. It will temporarily make the area feel better, but can increase the inflammatory-response, eventually making things worse.

Cold Laser

- Cold Laser is a pain-less therapy that involves applying an infrared laser to the affected area. Infrared light penetrates deep into the soft tissue stimulating the body's mitochondria to increase ATP production, leading to increased cell proliferation and migration, modulation in the levels of cytokines, growth factors and inflammatory mediators, and increased tissue oxygenation. AKA faster healing.

Practice Proper Posture

Improper posture no-doubt can be one factor that may have led to many conditions people deal with. Take "Tech Neck" for example. Our eyes are glued to our devices. Laptops, tablets, smart phones. When viewing these devices, what position is your head and neck in? DOWN. We are seeing a huge increase in necks that look like Noodle, Nosey, and Hipster (above) especially in kids and young adults. Poor posture like this can lead to headaches as well as pain, numbness and tingling in the neck, upper back, shoulders, arms and hands.

For a more information about proper posture check out this article.

Sleep

Sleep is when the body takes time to shut down non-necessary body function resources and re-directs them to recover and heal the body.

If sleep is not give proper priority in our normal daily life, our health will inevitably suffer. How much more important is sleep then, when we are dealing with a health issue. For something as minor as a mild headache to a major trauma, such as a car accident, sleep will be essential to allowing your body to heal.

How you sleep and what you sleep on are also things that should be addressed. Referencing posture, we spend anywhere from 6-8hrs per night (hopefully) sleeping. Proper posture while sleeping is very important. Sleeping on your back or side is okay. Sleeping on your stomach is a BIG no-no. Are you using a therapeutic pillow that promotes the proper curve of your neck? How about your mattress? Is it supportive, or is it old and worn out? It may be time to invest in yourself a little more and purchase a new pillow and/or mattress to help support your new health goals.

Ready to get on the path to health and wellness? Think it may be a good idea to get an health evaluation by a highly-qualified expert?

✅Check out our latest promotion here or call us directly at 803-932-9399

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