There’s a reason people working desk jobs experience neck pain and those in physical labor jobs may suffer from low-back problems. In many cases, the habits we keep throughout the day can have lasting effects on the rest of our body—especially if unmanaged!
Identifying Daily Habits
To start out you should begin identifying patterns in your daily routine—think posture or repetitive motions. As chiropractors, our own experience can be shoulder pain due to adjusting patients. Just like you in your repetitive motions, adjusting patients can take a toll on the doctor’s body.
To identify potential causes, here are some helpful questions to consider:
• What motions/postures are you frequenting for a majority of your day?
• Are you at a desk with shoulders slumped and head slightly turned one way?
• Are you reaching overhead with your body turned to one side? Are you lifting?
• While working out, are you using proper form? Have you had your form checked?
And remember, it’s not just physical habits—stress levels and nutritional intake also greatly affect how you feel and function.
Pain-Balancing Activities
While each body’s needs are unique (and you’ll definitely want to talk to your own chiro about what works best for you!), there are quite a few fun, easy activities that can help with pain relief as well as complement chiropractic care. One of the best? Swimming—it’s low impact on the body, and it requires us to hold our head in a position that combats our poor posture on the daily.
High intensity interval training is another great option. Getting that heart rate up and down is key. Gradually work into more difficult challenges. If you’re just getting started, even 10 minutes of 2 minutes walking, 20 seconds speed-walking in rotation will help.
Chiropractic: Your Body’s Best Bet
The first and most important activity one can do is to get adjusted. We all understand that we use our teeth daily and need to brush them and see the dentist; you use your spine so much more and it is imperative to take care of it. Through gentle chiropractic adjustments and individualized therapies, chiropractic care can get you out of pain and operating at your best. Our priority as chiropractors is to understand your concerns and figure out the solution that works for you!