Why do Chiropractic adjustments alleviate the pain where massage or foam rolling often fails?
The answer is alignment. When the spine is in better alignment, we alleviate the need to send pain signals to the brain. This is an extremely important step that must be established before we can truly get a stronger core or even move without pain. But what happens when you don't have access to a chiropractor? With COVID-19 raging across our world, it is more important than ever before that we gain a greater understanding of how to self-adjust to influence our own alignment. While they do not replace the skilled hands of a chiropractor, self adjustment techniques can make a massive difference in alleviating or eliminating back pain all together. In the first video, I am having a hard time touching my toes. This indicates that my spine and sacrum are stuck in some degree of extension. By applying the next two activities in videos two and three, I can effectively self adjust to restore spinal flexion and sacral counternutation.
Notice the flatness in my lower spine and inability to segment in to flexion.
1. Set against wall with knee is higher than hips 2. Push the knees apart to feel outer hips 3. Crunch stomach and reach with arms too feel abs 4. Take deep breaths in through the nose and exhale through the mouth while tightening abs and pushing knees apart 3. Repeat for 3 to five breaths Video 3- toe touch breathing
1. Place heels on rolled-up mat or bolster 2. Reach down to touch toes and inhale through the nose, feeling the back side of your body fill with air. 3. Exhale through the mouth well crunching the abs and attempting to relax the back further 4. Will notice with each breath you gained a few inches 5. Repeat for 3 to 5 breaths
Notice my spinal improved segmentation through the lower back
If you have trouble touching your toes, try these drills and immediately retest afterwards. If you can get further, it means that we have restored some healthy motion in the spine. This is an example of some of the self adjustment techniques we utilize in our Pain Relief Plus program.
The repetitive nature of sitting, standing and moving in awkward ways will often bias our spine and overall alignment in to certain positions which provoke pain. One thing I want to make clear is that these self adjustments must be done several times per day to re-establish good alignment.
We may not be able to get out of the house at the moment, but that doesn't mean we have to be in pain! For more information on our program, visit our website or fill out the attached form.
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