Range of Motion Exercises

One of the first exercises that I recommend to my patients is range of motion activity. This is important, because in many cases, back and neck problems are caused or worsened by lack of motion. Part of what a chiropractic adjustment does is restore normal joint motion. So at some point in a care plan, restoring motion should also be done by the patient while they're not in the office being treated. Range of motion exercises are simple and can be quite effective in enhancing the results of chiropractic care.

Basically, the spine has three planes of motion:

1. Flexion/extension
2. Left and right lateral bending
3. Left and right rotation.

As an example, let's use the neck. The three motion exercises would be:

1. Looking up and looking down.
2. Tilting the head to the left and right
3. Turning the head to the left and right.

Similar motions can be done in the back as well as the neck. This should be done slowly, with a light stretch at the end of the motion. Mild discomfort is ok, but this exercise should be stopped if pain or dizziness occurs. It's not necessary to do this exercise 15 times in a row. Do it once, but do it several times throughout the day.

Look out for future blogs where I'll do a video demonstration.