Stretches and Rehab Exercises

Stretches and Rehab Exercises in Victoria BC

Stretching Exercises Have a Dramatic Impact on Your Health

Our Victoria Chiropractic clinic strives to educate our patients, not just treat them. What many people don’t realize, is the importance of one’s lifestyle and routine and how this impacts your health. These two ingredients play a vital role into how the human body is shaped and what ailments may surface later on. For example, if you want to lose weight, gastric bypass surgery will help, however if you do not change your diet and eating habits, your lifestyle will lead you to the same results. The same is true with your spine.

The reality is, if you do not learn how to properly move your spine with a regular range of motion, you will never achieve the results you desire. This is especially true for people who suffer from sports injuries or motor vehicle accident injuries.

We explain how chiropractic therapy is good to begin with; however, if you are looking for long-term results, it’s imperative to begin incorporating and establishing a stretching or rehab exercising routine. It is easy to learn and does not take a lot of time commitment.


Recommended Stretching Exercises

If doing this stretch on the ground is difficult try your bed. This is a wonderful stretch for the lumbar discs and facets as well as the SI joints.

This is a wonderful stretch on its own but especially before or after the cobra pose (part of our recommended daily stretch routine). It’s great for stretching the lower and mid back as well as the hips. It’s also good during pregnancy.

This is a lovely stretch to open up the lower back freeing nerves and nourishing spinal discs. It’s easy for virtually anyone to do and it feels wonderful.

This stretch is wonderful for the shoulder and rotator cuff muscles.

This is great for people with shoulder issues caused by tight pecs and biceps.

This routine can change your life. It is best done daily and can be done in less than a minute. I recommend setting aside a specific time in the day to do this, such as before you go to bed. Tip: Keep your lower back straight when you bend forward towards your toes to help isolate the hamstrings.

This is one of the best exercises to strengthen your core (the muscles that support the spine and pelvis). Tip: Try keeping your belly button pulled in towards your spine. This helps engage the transverse abdominus muscle which adds extra stability to your core.

This exercise will make your core (abs and lower back muscles) stronger which is important for lower back and hip health! If you can do a prone plank for 2 minutes or more, congratulations you have a strong back.

This is a great exercise for anyone with a sway back, history of C-section, athletes, people looking to get stronger or those with lower back pain. I hope you enjoy!

This is a wonderful exercise to strengthen your core spinal muscles.

I’ve been doing this stretch almost every morning for decades because it feels awesome. I got it from reading an Andrew Weil book on healing. This stretch floods your brain with healthy nerve input and keeps your back flexible.

I love this stretch because it’s terrific for athletes or people with pain in the low back, hip, buttocks or going down the legs. In yoga this is called the pigeon pose.

This is the best way to stretch the hip flexors. It can be intense so stay relaxed and breathe into it. It can take a bit of practice so be patient

This is one of the best exercises to reverse slouching posture (gamer’s neck, head forward posture, rounded shoulders etc.).

This video show you how to stretch your neck. It’s terrific for people with neck problems, and even issues with shoulders, elbows or wrists.

Hold each stretch for as long as you like but 1-3 seconds at full stretch is good. Do this routine as often as you wish but once per day is a terrific goal.

This device is designed to help restore the normal lordotic curve found in the neck (cervical spine) for people with kyphotic or alordotic neck curves.


Benefits of Stretching

Not only is stretching important for enhancing the benefits of chiropractic therapy, daily stretching has its own list of benefits. This is why fitness experts encourage stretching before any workout. Here are a few benefits that you can anticipate through incorporating stretching into your life:

  • Better posture
  • Enhanced energy levels
  • Less sore after exercising
  • Decrease chance of injury
  • Less cholesterol
  • Better stamina
  • Less bodily tension

Areas and Types of Stretches or Exercises

The stretches and exercises our our Victoria chiropractic clinic suggests are relatively easy and require minimal time throughout your day. In fact, these stretches can be done before or after work, on a lunch break or bathroom breaks, and even at night.

Through properly stretching the following six areas, you will gradually notice an increase of vitality and flexibility. If you would like to learn more information and specifics regarding these stretches and exercises, please watch our YouTube stretching videos.

Lower Back – To reap the benefits of chiropractic therapy, perform the following lower back stretches.

  • Crossover
  • Child’s Pose
  • Knee to Chest

Shoulders and Upper Back – If you live a sedentary life, shoulders and upper back stretches are vital to keeping your back healthy and in shape.

  • Shoulder stretch (rotator cuff)
  • Child’s Pose (upper back)
  • Doorway (pecs, shoulders and biceps)

Spinal Conditioning – The following nine exercises are considered “core” stretches.

  • Spinal Stretch Routine
  • Bird Dog (core)
  • Planking (Prone and Side) (core)
  • Abdominals (core)
  • Superman (core and posture)
  • Spinal Lengthening Stretch
  • Pigeon (gluts and hips)
  • Couch (hip flexors)
  • The Wall Angel (posture)

Neck Stretching – It’s important to take the time to stretch the entire neck. The following neck stretches can help alleviate any tension held in the area.

  • Neck Stretch Routine
  • Cervical Apex (restoring neck curve)

Our Victoria Chiropractic Clinic is Here to Help You:

At Victoria Family Chiropractic, we are here to help teach as many patients as possible to understand the importance of stretching and rehab exercises. When you come to visit our office, we will teach you different stretches and exercises that can be done at home.

If you are interested in learning more about our stretching and rehab exercises mentioned above, please watch the videos.

OFFICE HOURS


Monday
7:30am - 1:00pm


Tuesday
1:00pm - 7:00pm


Wednesday
7:30am - 1:00pm


Thursday
1:00pm - 7:00pm


Friday
7:30am - 1:00pm


Saturday
Closed

Victoria Family Chiropractic
3200 Shelbourne Street Suite 203
Victoria, BC V8P 5G8
(250) 592-5553

Official Chiropractor for Your Victoria Vikes Hockey Club