A lot of patients ask me if chiropractic and exercise should be done together? Did you know receiving chiropractic adjustments can help you to make the most of your exercise program. Chiropractic helps exercise, and exercise helps chiropractic. Let me explain.

Both chiropractic and exercise are about movement. Exercise is global movement of the body. The muscles and joints are in motion. This is why I am a fan of exercise programs that get you to move your whole body. I much prefer whole body exercises over working the body in various segments. Think of chest day, arm day, back day, etc… The human body is designed to work as a whole system, integrated together. The more freedom of movement one maintains in their body, the better they feel and the better their workouts are. People who feel good while working out are more likely to maintain the exercise habit.

Chiropractic adjustments are also about movement. Movement of the spinal joints is our main focus, although I also perform a lot of adjustments on other areas of the body as well. If you have an injured or misaligned joint in the body it creates abnormal or no movement in that joint. This can lead to pain, dysfunction and further degradation over time. My job is to restore motion to the joint so healing can occur. One of the most common pieces of advice I give to someone after an adjustment is “keep moving!” Once we get you adjusted, some physical activity (within comfort) helps the healing process that we are creating here in the office.

Movement is Life

Lack of movement is leading to a lot of negative health issues in society today. Diseases like heart disease, obesity, arthritis, diabetes and more could be prevented if people had more movement in their days. It is quite easy to create new habits in regards to movement. Pick a further parking spot, take the stairs as much as possible, schedule your workout times, and the easiest of all…go for a walk. Taking a walk every single day is a great and easy way to keep movement in your life.

If you are having a hard time creating new, healthy habits, I recommend a book called ‘Atomic Habits’ by James Clear. More info here: https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits

In conclusion, keep moving, stay adjusted, stay healthy! If you need help in any of these areas, please let me know. My mission is to help as many people as possiboe achieve their greatest health!

Dr. Bourdage