From pain relief to general wellness, Dr. Jean Smith at Cajun Chiropractic and Rehab in Youngsville, LA, offers therapeutic exercise and other effective treatment methods to help.
Your Guide to Therapeutic Exercise in Chiropractic Care
Achieving health and recovering from injuries fully often requires multiple forms of treatment. You need to both correct the structural issue and strengthen the damaged area to ensure it doesn’t happen again. Additionally, while there is a root cause of pain, that root cause can also impact other areas of the musculoskeletal system.
It’s for these reasons and more that chiropractic care is a multi-technique process. Among other methods, therapeutic exercise plays a key role. Dr. Smith and the team at Cajun Chiropractic and Rehab in Youngsville, LA, explain what therapeutic exercise is and why it’s used below.
What Do You Mean By Therapeutic Exercise?
When most people think of exercise, the mind immediately goes to running on a treadmill, doing sit-ups or pull-ups, or something similar for the purpose of getting in shape and losing weight. This type of exercise is important, of course, but therapeutic exercises are a bit different.
Therapeutic exercise is used for the purpose of improving and restoring damaged or injured areas, as well as preventing the loss of physical function. In short, it is used to correct an issue or prevent one.
While some exercises are similar to those you’d normally see in a workout routine, therapeutic exercises are targeted stretching and strengthening movements that provide the following benefits and more:
- Improving balance, coordination, and mobility
- Relieving pain and muscle spasms
- Improving joint function
- Increasing blood flow and nerve function
Another difference between regular exercises and therapeutic exercises is how they are performed. Regular workouts are typically used to push the body to achieve the specific look or weight that a person desires.
Therapeutic exercises are recommended according to your needs. Routines start slowly and gently – with your abilities and comfort in mind – and build up as your body heals.
Benefits of Adding Therapeutic Exercise to Chiropractic Care
Chiropractic care focuses on realigning your spine and restoring health to the musculoskeletal system. Techniques such as adjustments and spinal decompression are invaluable in these cases, but the results can be undone if the soft tissues are not also treated.
Therapeutic exercises help relieve tension to prevent the skeletal system from being pulled back out of alignment. They also strengthen the soft tissues so that they can provide the necessary support to keep your skeletal system aligned.
Learn more about therapeutic exercise by visiting Dr. Smith at Cajun Chiropractic and Rehab in Youngsville, LA. Call (337) 210-3399 to schedule your appointment today.