If you know that you need to incorporate more stretching into your routine, or if you suspect that you should be trying to see a chiropractor more than you are right now, then you need to make sure that you understand the difference between the two. Chiropractic care can differ quite a lot from stretch recovery and the two options will involve very different experiences too. If you want to try and make the most out of your choice, then this guide will help you to understand the two.
What is Chiropractic Care?
Chiropractic care is a form of medicine, and it is based on the idea that the body is able to heal itself if you have the right hands-on manipulation. This can be done by a trained professional. These kinds of manipulations can help you to realign your joints, and they can also provide you with a lot of pain relief as well. Chiropractic care is ideal if you want to relieve pain from conditions that could go on to affect your connective tissue, muscles, joints, and cartilage. It often focuses on your spine, but it is possible for it to focus on other parts of your body, depending on what you are dealing with. If you look at chiropractic care as a whole, you will soon see that it shares a lot of similarities with physical therapy. Certain conditions can easily be treated with both these therapy types too. If you look at chiropractor, you will soon see that they are far more likely to use hands-on manipulation to relieve you of your symptoms. Physical therapists on the other hand tend to try and rehabilitate injuries through exercises and stretches.
The Benefits of Chiropractic Care
There are some benefits to chiropractic care, some of which can be found below.
Improving Neck Pain
Neck pain is a very common issue. This is especially the case if you sit down for too many hours in the day. If you bend your neck to use your phone or if you have a poor posture, then a chiropractor can easily help you to ease your neck pain by helping you to realign your spine, easing tension.
Reducing Pain Relief Reliance
If you live with chronic pain, then you may be given a prescription for opioids so you can deal with your discomfort. If you undergo chiropractic treatment, then this can stop you from having to take them as often.
Easing Back Pain
Chiropractic treatment can be a very good alternative if you want to try and avoid more invasive treatments, such as injections or even surgery. It is recommended that if you have quite mild back pain, you try and treat it through spinal manipulation or exercise first.
What is Stretch Recovery?
Stretch recovery is also known as assisted stretching. It is the process in which a trained practitioner moves your body in a certain way, lengthening certain muscle groups while also helping you to relieve tension. Stretch recovery is very different to chiropractic care as it is usually done to help athletes recover from a hard workout, and it also helps them to maintain their flexibility for future workouts. A lot of athletes visit chiropractors as they can help with pain and workout injuries, but assisted stretching, or stretch recovery tends to be better for those who want to actively prevent issues before they happen. It is also much more suited to those who want to try and improve their athletic performance overall. If you want to find out some of the benefits of stretch recovery, then simply take a look below.
The Benefits of Stretch Recovery
If you want to find out some of the benefits of stretch recovery, then simply take a look below.
Muscle Pain
Stretch recovery can help you with everything, from poor posture to exercising incorrectly, and stress. There are a lot of reasons for muscle pain, but assisted stretching can help you with them all. If you have pain around the neck, back or shoulders and you spend a lot of your day sitting at your desk job, then this can cause you a great deal of stress. Stretch recovery can help you with this. It can also strengthen the balance of your muscles so you can prevent the issue from recurring.
Joint Injuries
Range of motion refers to how much joint movement you have. It describes how much motion you have when your joint is rotated, flexed, or stretched. A lot of factors can easily limit the range of motion you have. Stretching exercises that have been guided by a professional practitioner can strengthen your joints as well as help you with your flexibility. You can also relieve stiffness around your joints too, and this can help you out more than you realize.
Sleep and Stress
Stress is a part of our lives. You have probably accepted this, but if you experience sudden pain in your shoulders, back and neck, then you may find that a lot of this stems from anxiety. You might not be able to avoid your stressful working environment, but you can help to mitigate stress through the right kind of stress therapy. You can also boost the endorphins in your brain, which can help you out a lot with your general mood and productivity.
Improved Performance
Stretching is known for having a huge impact on your productivity and your performance. That is why it is becoming part of a fitness regime for athletes. The practice is especially used with swimmers, runners, cyclists, wrestlers, and more. People who partake in sports like this are often prone to imbalances such as injuries and imbalances.
Does Stretching Enhance Recovery?
The main objective of stretching is that it helps you to reduce how sore your muscles are. It can also reduce muscle stiffness quite a lot as well. For this reason, stretching can help you with your recovery more than you realize. If you want to find out more about stretching and how it could help you to enhance your general recovery, then the only thing that you have to do is take a look below.
Which is Better, Chiropractic Care or Stretch Recovery?
It is clear that chiropractic care and stretch recovery both offer a lot of benefits. The main thing that you need to know is that chiropractic care can be much more passive, and stretch recovery is more active. Chiropractors may well recommend that you stretch so you can stop certain neuromuscular issues, but they do not often do the stretches on the patient. On top of this, a lot of issues that are treated through chiropractic care can actually be treated through simple stretching. Neck and back pain that is caused by mild scoliosis, joint pain, and even tight muscles can all be significantly improved through stretch recovery.
On top of this, stretch recovery is much more likely to benefit you and your body in the future.
Assisted Stretching and the Benefits over Chiropractic Care
People are now starting to see that assisted stretching can fit into any health and wellness routine. Assisted stretching involves a trained professional who will stretch your body for you. This is normally done at a specific, dedicated facility. The stretches can be done manually, or they can be done using specialist equipment. Stretching programs tend to be dedicated to an individual and the goals that they have. They can also involve weekly or monthly visits. A chiropractor however may only offer you treatment for the time that you are in pain, but this doesn’t really contribute to stopping the pain from coming back in the future. A lot of the time you will be told to do exercises from home to stop this from happening. The issue here is that a lot of the time the exercises cannot be done because of the pain, or they are done improperly, meaning that more pain is caused as a result.
Improved Blood Circulation
Practitioners often claim that there are many benefits to assisted stretching, such as the fact that it can improve your flexibility while also helping you with your range of motion. Stretching can also help you to decrease pain, while significantly lowering your chances of experiencing an injury in the future. With such a huge range of benefits, it is not at all surprising to see that people who undergo assisted stretching range from children to the elderly. It is also a very common habit of those who have a movement disorder or those who have a neuromuscular disease.
Improved Athletic Performance
Studies have been done on the general impact of an active stretching program on older adults. They have found that it did help to increase their range of motion as well as their functional power, mobility and more.
Keeping Things Consistent
A lot of people find it very difficult to stick with a consistent routine for stretching, and they also find it difficult to push themselves when they do stretching too. The great thing about assisted stretching is that it helps to keep everything consistent, and it is also highly beneficial.
More Than Just Pain Management
If you are curious to know whether or not assisted stretching is going to be beneficial for you, then there’s no harm in giving it a try. Even if you are not experiencing specific pain, it can give you a lot of benefits. You may find that you have areas of your body that are way tighter than you may think and this can be a major health concern. Sitting down all of the time can turn your body into a ticking time bomb. The amount of stress that it puts on your body is unbelievable. If you compare the stress that it puts on your body when compared to what it puts on an athlete’s, you will soon find that the two are very similar, and for this reason, assisted stretching is always beneficial.
Some Key Reminders for Stretching
Daily stretching is so important. If you want to stretch daily, then you need to remember a few key things. If you want to find out more, then the only thing that you have to do is take a look below.
Pain Does Not Equal Gain
You should never stretch to the point where you feel pain. You should only stretch to the point where you feel some gentle tightening in your muscle. You should then hold it in that position as much as possible. If you begin to feel pain, then it is so important that you back off. You should know that the whole no-pain no-gain concept does not apply to stretching whatsoever.
Hold It
You have to make sure that you hold your stretches for around 20-30 seconds, and that you do not bounce either. If you stretch while bouncing, then you will soon find that this triggers a reflex. This is otherwise known as the myotatic and stretch reflex. The muscle causes it to contract and tighten which is actually completely counterproductive to the stretch itself.
Make it a Habit
Consistency is key when you stretch. If you want to make sure that you are capitalizing on the biggest benefits of stretching, then it is highly recommended that you do what you can to make it a habit. You need to try and do what you can to incorporate it into your daily routine as much as possible, so you can take advantage of the benefits.
So, chiropractic care can offer its benefits, but at the end of the day, assisted stretching is able to benefit you more in the long run. Assisted stretching is also a much more active way of helping you to recover from any injuries that you may have, so it is important to keep this in mind. If you want to get the biggest benefits that come with assisted stretching, then the best thing that you can do is try and work with a trained professional. When you do, you can then count on them to help you with anything you need.
