Exercise therapy is a vital component of chiropractic rehabilitation. It involves a series of prescribed exercises that target specific muscle groups, joints, or tissues in order to strengthen, stretch, and stabilize the body. These exercises help patients regain strength, improve flexibility, and support proper alignment.
Common Exercise Techniques:
- Strengthening Exercises: These exercises are designed to target and strengthen weak muscles that may have been affected by an injury or poor posture. Strengthening certain muscle groups, such as the core, back, and hips, can provide better support for the spine and joints.
- Examples: Planks, bridges, squats, lunges, resistance band exercises.
- Stretching and Flexibility Exercises: Stretching helps increase the flexibility of the muscles and tissues surrounding the joints, which is important for mobility and reducing stiffness.
- Examples: Hamstring stretches, shoulder stretches, hip flexor stretches.
- Stabilization Exercises: These exercises are aimed at improving posture and joint stability, reducing the risk of future injuries.
- Examples: Core exercises like abdominal crunches, pelvic tilts, and lower back exercises.
- Functional Exercises: These exercises mimic real-life activities and help patients regain function in their day-to-day movements, whether it’s walking, bending, or lifting objects.
- Examples: Balance exercises, squats with proper posture, and reaching or lifting with correct body mechanics.
