5 Ways Chiropractic Adjustments Differ from Exercise

Having a wide range of motion can help you exercise and keep you feeling fit. Stretching, flexing, and performing a regular yoga routine may not only tone your muscles, but also keep your spine from becoming stiff. If you exercise daily, you may wonder if your routine provides you with the same kinds of benefits that you would get from a chiropractic adjustment. Honestly, each is quite different, and visiting your chiropractor may offer you health perks you might not get at the gym.

1. An Adjustment Works Your Vertebrae 

While yoga and other exercises stretch the muscles in your back, you cannot voluntarily move the vertebrae in your spine. As a result, slipped discs and other spinal issues usually cannot be healed with daily exercise. Chiropractic adjustments allow for the readjustment of spinal bones that cannot otherwise be moved voluntarily.

2. A Focus on Previous Injuries 

If you have injured your back in the past or had any kind of back surgery, then you may have to be mindful of the types of exercise you perform while at the gym. Flexing, twisting, and other quick movements may re-injure your back and lead to pain and numbness. However, when you see your chiropractor, he or she will likely focus on keeping the injured area flexible and strong so you are less likely to hurt yourself while jogging or using an elliptical machine.

3. Freeing Stuck Vertebrae

While you can move your spine with neck and back exercises, you cannot move or loosen individual vertebrae that may be stuck and causing stiffness or pain. Yoga and other types of stretching may warm and flex the muscles in that area, but a chiropractic adjustment can move and free those stuck vertebrae and give you a wider range of motion.

4. Exercise May Aggravate Back Problems 

Daily exercise can help keep your heart and lungs healthy. However, if you have chronic lower back pain, visits to the gym may aggravate this problem. Some exercises may even cause muscle spasms or cause your back to lock up. Seeing a chiropractor can help work these problem areas so you can avoid suffering of a bad back.

5. Exercise Cannot Repair Normal Nerve Function

When vertebrae in your back become injured, the nerves that surround them may become weakened as well. While exercise can tone muscles and help you lose weight, daily visits to the gym may not support damaged nerves. Chiropractic adjustments and stretching exercises recommended by your chiropractor could be more helpful in reducing nerve pain and numbness.

While daily exercise can help keep you fit, it may not replace the benefits of chiropractic adjustments. Call a local chiropractor today for an appointment and additional information on alternative treatments such as Acupuncture Santa Monica, CA.

Thanks to  Santa Monica Holistic for their insight into how chiropractic adjustments differ from exercise.