Chiropractic care involves gentle movement of the spine and extremities. An adjustment puts motion into joints that may not be moving enough. The joints are surrounded by a capsule and nerve endings that can cause pain and irritation. An adjustment will stimulate these structures to help block pain signals going to the brain as well as allowing the brain to release natural opioids which helps reduce pain sensations.

Along with segmental motion of the joints, these areas are fulcrums and anchor points for muscle attachments. In most pain instances, a patient will benefit from not only an adjustment, but also soft tissue work in either a local or global sense. Multiple soft tissue techniques such as massage, ART, Graston (IASTM), and PIR/PNF stretching have been shown to help reduce pain and increase local movement in both acute and chronic pain conditions.

Whether a person is dealing with chronic pain or an acute flare up, the body will respond by guarding and protecting the area that is hurt. Studies have shown that the best way to speed up the recovery process of most conditions is to start with simple and safe movement. This can be utilized in the clinical setting through therapeutic exercise. Ending a treatment session with safe and effective exercises greatly improves the effectiveness of the soft tissue work and chiropractic adjustments. This will also help the patient’s tolerance to certain day-to-day activities to have the best quality of life.