Choosing to get a chiropractic adjustment is a great way to care for your body, especially if you’ve recently been injured. After a chiropractic adjustment, caring for your body becomes essential to ensure you receive the most benefits from this treatment. But to properly care for yourself, you need to know what your chiropractic team recommends.
At Ogden Chiropractic, we understand that your aftercare is just as important as the work your chiropractor does during your appointment. To ensure you are properly caring for your body after a chiropractic adjustment, keep reading to see what our team recommends.
The Importance of Self-Care After a Chiropractic Adjustment
After a chiropractic adjustment, following proper aftercare is crucial to maximize the benefits and minimize potential discomfort. Proper aftercare helps the body adapt to the changes, reduces the risk of injury, and promotes healing. There are several steps you can take to ensure adequate healing following your chiropractic adjustment.
How to Care for Yourself After a Chiropractic Adjustment
If you’ve recently had a chiropractic adjustment, there are several things you can do to ensure the most effective treatment. Care after a chiropractic adjustment includes:
1. Hydrate
It is important to drink plenty of water after a chiropractic adjustment to ensure the removal of toxins. If you don’t drink enough water, you may experience cold- or flu-like symptoms, including headache, nausea, dizziness, or fatigue. To feel your best, you should drink a lot of water immediately after the adjustment and then drink about half your body weight in ounces of water for several days following the appointment.
2. Rest
Give your body plenty of time to rest after an adjustment. After your adjustment, you should avoid strenuous activities for the first 24-48 hours. This means you should avoid heavy lifting and working out until you begin to feel a bit better. Overdoing it too soon after an adjustment may lead to more aches, pains, and potential injuries. Allow yourself this time to rest your muscles and joints before jumping into activity.
3. Ice or Heat Therapy
Your chiropractor may recommend heat therapies after a chiropractic adjustment in order to aid recovery. This therapy, which may include the use of heating pads or ice, can help you manage inflammation and soreness following your adjustment. However, it is important to follow the instructions provided by your chiropractor when using these therapies. Overuse of these therapies may lead to heightened discomfort.
4. Monitor Your Body
After a chiropractic adjustment, it is important to monitor how your body feels to determine the best course of action for aftercare. It is not uncommon to experience aches and pains after the adjustment. However, it is important to determine whether these aches and pains are lingering for too long. If they are, you should reach out to your chiropractor for help. They can give you advice on how to alleviate this discomfort.
5. Light Stretching
Some stiffness may present itself after a chiropractic adjustment. To avoid this, you should consider incorporating some light stretching into your morning and nighttime routine. Gently stretch any stiff body parts to prevent this stiffness. It is important to avoid overdoing it with stretches. Overly aggressive stretches may do more harm than good and lead to more stiffness and pain in the affected areas.
6. Maintain Good Posture
Be conscious of your posture, especially in the days after a chiropractic adjustment. Poor posture may be the cause of existing back pain and the reason you sought an adjustment in the first place. Good posture can help support the positive changes made during your session and contribute to overall spinal health. Pull your shoulders back and sit with your heels on the ground to maintain the best posture possible and prevent recurring back pain.
7. Follow-Up Appointments
One chiropractic adjustment may not be enough to help you recover from any discomfort you are experiencing. If you are experiencing more severe discomfort, consider scheduling a follow-up appointment after your chiropractic adjustment. Regular follow-ups with your trusted chiropractic team may help promote overall healing and spinal health. To determine how many appointments you’ll require, be as open with your chiropractor as possible about the discomfort you’re experiencing.
Regular Adjustments with Ogden Chiropractic
Taking care of yourself after a chiropractic adjustment is a great way to promote recovery from spinal injuries. By following the suggested post-adjustment self-care practices, you can boost the benefits of your chiropractic treatments, promote healing, and contribute to long-term spinal health.
If you’re looking for a chiropractic team to help you recover from a spinal injury, consider working with our expert team at Ogden Chiropractic. With years of experience helping individuals across Northern Utah recover from injuries, we’re confident that we can also help you make a quick recovery.
In addition to treatments for spinal injuries, we provide treatment for headaches, insomnia, vertigo, and much more. If you want to schedule an appointment with our team to address back pain, don’t hesitate to contact our team today.