Whether you’re a gym buff, a fitness enthusiast, or a desk hockey – we all deal with our own set of annoying muscle aches and pains. They get in the way of our routine, preventing us from working out (or simply working) as long as we would like. Worse yet, they can even stop us in our tracks completely.
Those annoying muscle aches can be more than just physically irritating. They put a drain on our energy, because exercise is equally as important for mental health as it is anything else. Most of the time, simply taking a minute or two to reassess your body’s feelings will allow you to move past them.
Chiropractic
Quite often, though not always, the most annoying injuries we experience are related to a combo of imbalances with regard to bone and joint (hard structure), muscles, tendons and fascia (soft tissue) and our movement patterns. In order to move past and correct the issue, a professional will need to assess these components. Chiropractors are trained to perform these assessments safely and to provide holistic treatment.
The optimal function of the nervous system is promoted by Chiropractors through chiropractic adjustment to remove subluxations (“structural interference”). While optimizing the function of the nervous system is the primary goal of chiropractors, they are also experts in movement patterns, muscle function, and joint movement.
Like professional athletes, casual gym goers and sports buffs should utilize chiropractic doctors. Over time, and often even on the first visit, you will notice improved brain/body communication thanks to the spinal adjustments you’ll likely receive. Chiropractors will also assess the joints associated with the parts of your body experiencing restricted range of motion, injury, or poor patterns of movement.
Key Factors: Stability & Flexibility
Flexibility is something that needs to be addressed and improved on a regular basis. Joints and muscles must be able to move freely and without the risk of being pulled or fractured. Sedentary habits, which are all too typical in the United States, do little to encourage adequate flexibility. Make a stretching program for yourself and stick to it. Soft tissue professionals can aid with deep muscle work, especially when it combines work on muscles and joints above and below the afflicted location.
The healthier and more adaptable a joint is to stresses, strains, and exercise, the more stable it becomes. To improve function and sensation, increase joint stability. Kinesthetic awareness, or proprioception, is the body’s ability to sense its position in space; better proprioception adds greatly to joint stability. When we improve joint stability, the surrounding muscles don’t have to work as hard (or as efficiently) to stabilize the joint because the joint has the potential to do so on its own.
Work on your balancing skills to increase joint stability and reduce tension in those overused muscles to get one over on those aches and pains.
Ongoing Support: Strength and Nutrition
With aches and pains, weak joints and muscles can become loud. Strengthening the joints and muscles, as well as complementing with nutritional support, can aid in the healing of nagging injuries. To strengthen the endurance of the damaged joints/muscles, highly targeted exercises can be obtained that are neither difficult nor unduly complicated. The key is specificity: identifying which muscles and joints are being loaded (or strained) and ensuring optimal activation and form are used to complete the activity.
Food and nutrition are both forms of medicine. Even if it’s only a multivitamin, there’s always something you can add to your diet or nutrition program to help in the healing process.
Conclusion
Annoying muscle aches and pains may spoil anyone’s day or routine — not in a totally catastrophic sense, but in a way that wears you down over time. You can, however, overcome them. Visit a chiropractor and let them use chiropractic adjustments to promote brain/body communication. Allow them to examine your body for any imbalances or abnormal movement patterns that could be contributing to your problems. Routines for flexibility and stability should be implemented. Work out your muscles on a regular basis, then strengthen and support that joint.
If you follow this method in the correct order and on a regular basis, you and your body will benefit in more ways than you can imagine.
Experiencing muscle aches and pains? Book an appointment online with Dr. Jason Mubarak at Midlands Spine Center today, or give us a call at (803) 520-0084.
