Chiropractic care can help realign the parts of your body that need help getting back to their normal, healthy, functional positions. There are additional things, however, that can help the healing process continue in between chiropractic visits. Aerobic exercises that get your blood circulating while flexing and stretching those injured areas are highly beneficial to the mending of injured muscles and joints.
Yoga
Yoga can be beneficial as a supplement to chiropractic care. First of all, it is a great way to ground your awareness of your body and its needs, helping you to isolate the areas that need help or that are especially tense. According to KiraGrace, there are several kinds of yoga, each with different styles of performance and carrying varying benefits. “Hatha” yoga is the best for beginners, consisting of basic poses that effectively stretch your body without pushing it beyond a healthy point for injuries. Bikram yoga (or hot yoga) has the added benefit of more calories burned, if you want your stretching to feel like more of a workout.
Swimming
If you want a low impact exercise that still builds muscle strength and is a great form of cardio, try swimming. Swimming utilizes the muscles of your entire body and requires consistent stretching of all muscles. You can create a swim workout that tailors to your physical capabilities and endurance, mixing sprints and long distance to provide both aerobic endurance and anaerobic strength training. In addition, according to SwimJim, cold water swimming can help improve your circulation. This makes swimming the perfect physical therapy option for anyone in frequent chiropractic care.
Walking
As simple as it seems, according to Spine-Health, walking is another perfect aerobic exercise that promotes muscle movement and circulation. Make it an assertive walk—slow walking or short walks aren’t going to do much to get your body moving the way it needs to, to really reap the benefits of walking. Keep a good pace, consider going into varying or even rigorous terrain to require your body to move differently, stretching different muscles and exerting your body more than average walks. Adding weights to your walk will add a surprisingly significant challenge to this basic exercise. Walking with proper posture will actually help keep any alignment made during chiropractic appointments stay aligned.
Maintain, assist, and prolong the benefits of chiropractic care by supplementing those visits with effective exercises meant specifically to stretch and strengthen the “injured” muscles, and furthermore enjoy the additional benefits of these kinds of exercise!
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