I encourage all of you reading to maintain a regimen of stretching regularly. But I need to tell you that stretching doesn’t mean you can skip the chiropractor.
You may be the most enthusiastic stretcher in the world. You may be able to make your back pop. But you still need to visit a chiropractor to maintain optimal health.
The Central Nervous System
The central nervous system is a chiropractor’s turf. And maintaining it at optimal function is what I do. This is the bodily system encompassing your spinal cord, nerves and your brain, so it’s how your body communicates with itself.
The better your central nervous system is feeling, the better you’ll function, overall. It’s interesting to note that only 10% of this system is dedicated to pain signals. Your central nervous system may not be firing on all cylinders, but because of this small percentage governing pain messages, you probably won’t know that.
So, pain isn’t really a great way to gauge your CNS health. What is a great way to gauge your health in this area is regular visits to your chiropractor.
Spinal Range of Motion?
There are two areas of interest when it comes to overall range of motion in the spine. Segmental refers to your range of motion in the individual joints of the spine. Global refers to how the various parts of your spine move together, as a totality.
Looking at the neck, its global range of motion is larger than it is for the segmental range. Function in your neck largely relies on the segmental range in individual vertebrae. Limited global range of motion in the neck may also be an indicator of anomalies in other parts of the spine.
And when the range of motion in your neck is limited, segmental instability is well entrenched. So, if you haven’t been visiting your chiropractor to maintain optimal range of motion, you’ll really need to once you’ve arrived at this juncture.
Hold the Popping
If you’re someone who gets a charge out of popping your own back, I strongly counsel that you stop this practice immediately. You’re not a chiropractor. You don’t know what you’re doing, even if you believe you do.
What popping your own back amounts to is self-adjustment. I don’t even do that to myself! This action only serves to further destabilize the joints around the restricted one, as the force you’re applying to elicit a pop is unspecified and improperly directed.
Remember that your spine is the armor for your central nervous system. That’s a lot of responsibility you’re taking on for the sake of a pop and it’s dangerous.
These are the very valid reasons as to why stretching doesn’t mean you can skip the chiropractor. Stop popping your back and come see me. Your segmental range of motion is compromised.
Back & Body Medical
I’m a chiropractor, working with a superlative team of clinicians practicing acupuncture, sports medicine and physical therapy. Please keep stretching but come see me about that segmental spinal joint problem.
