Exercise and Stretching

Exercise and stretching are essential to regain range of motion, especially after a joint has been manipulated and unlocked. The movements of exercises and stretching allow the joint fluid to lubricate and feed the joint cartilage cells. Exercise and stretching hasten the return of muscle strength lost from joint fixation and lack of nerve impulses.

The back and neck function as a complex machine, requiring lubrication through joint and muscle movement.. The body is not designed for long periods of standing/sitting, nor for continual bending or other repetitive motion. Because normal joint motion turns off the pain circuit, daily exercises are required to lubricate the joints, promote circulation, and maintain strength without pain.

It is important to incorporate the right exercises in your daily routine. Call Dunn Wellness Center at (904) 249-1551 to determine which exercises you should be using. In the meantime, the following questions and answers may be helpful.

Q&A
How often should I do exercises?
How should I change my diet when I am injured and
  cannot exercise?
Why doesn’t exercise alone help?
Can I get injured from exercises?
Will I be able to do all types of exercises?


How often should I do exercises?
In the first ten days of care, frequently performed exercises speed recovery and healing. Exercises should be performed a minimum of ten times a day for short periods of time (five minutes). In the second ten days of care, exercises should be performed five times a day with a longer duration (ten minutes). After approximately three weeks, the joint ligaments will have recovered enough so that three sessions per day are adequate. This practice should become a part of normal daily activity to maintain joint health.

How should I change my diet when I am injured and cannot exercise?
Make sure you drink plenty of water, and reduce your intake of fats and carbohydrates, especially sugar. Vitamin C and glucosamine sulfate also aid in your recovery.

Why doesn’t exercise alone help?
Exercising a locked joint system adds to the stress and inflammation of ligaments and tendons. Many times, patients will say that they tried to correct their problem with exercises, but it made the muscle spasm and the pain worse. Chiropractic adjustments, manipulations, and mobilizations are often needed to unlock joint systems due to stress and inflammation. Dysfunction is the most common cause of injury when there has been no trauma or accident.

Can I get injured from exercises?
It is certainly possible to injure yourself with exercise. Your joints are designed to guide the movement of your bones. If the joints are locked, exercising will cause abnormal stress to the joints, ligament, tendons and muscles, resulting in pain. Regular chiropractic care can help prevent injury from locked joints.

Will I be able to do any type of exercises?
Depending upon how your joint system has been injured, you may or may not be able to perform all types of exercises. There are different movements in exercise: flexion, extension, lateral bending and rotation. Your lower spinal joint system is not designed for rotation; consequently, lower back injuries may become aggravated by these types of movements. If you sprained a spinal ligament during flexion, then flexion exercises will cause an inflammation reaction and a return of symptoms.