Body pain and tension are what you feel when you get cramps in your legs, pain in your feet, knees and hips or pain in your back and neck during the day.

Often you don’t know why you feel the pain, it kind of sneaks up on you. But you feel it most when you’re relaxing and not doing anything else, like at night or while you’re sitting.

Many of my clients have found relief at our office and quickly learn how to decrease the pain on their own with what we teach them. With our help, they are able to take care of some of their major body imbalances.

These imbalances are from:
• muscles pulling
• bones stuck and not moving smoothly within the joints that surround them
• nerve irritation
• or joints not providing the proper cushioning because of lack of proper movement

There are things you can do on your own to manage some of these painful body imbalances.

Take a look at one of my body tension stretches. I love to share these tips to help you deal with many of the common pain symptoms I hear about.

The “Back and Hip Pain Relief Move”

Start in a standing position. We’re going to stretch the core postural muscles, called the Psoas muscles, which connect your legs and back and allow you to raise your leg at the hip joint. This muscle can tighten up when you sit too long which leads to pain in your hip and lower back, especially at night.
Action Step: Get into a lunge position with one foot forward and one back while you face forward. Lean your body back to fully stretch the muscle. Hold this stretch for 10 deep breaths. Do the same on the other side

For those suffering from achy and painful legs, take a look at how knee problems can lead to future pain. To find out the surprising information about what your body’s secretly up to, take our free quiz: “10 Questions to See if a Major Foot, Ankle, or Knee Injury will Stop Your Activity (and How to Prevent It)”.

One rough experience I had years ago caused me to decide on a career as a chiropractor.

It all started after high school when I was trying to decide what college to attend and major to pursue. I didn’t have a specific school in mind but all required a wellness physical as part of the application process. So to get things started I decided to get my entry physical and vaccines completed.
When I took this innocent step, I didn’t know what I was in for; a whole summer of pain and the worry that this was “it”.

I received a vaccination that most people get without any side effects. For me however, it ended up causing a severe and violent reaction. As it turned out I was allergic to a dye in the vaccine.
I lost lots of weight, had no appetite, suffered from dizziness, breathing problems and a high fever and couldn’t get the symptoms to go away. Doctors seemed to give up on me and could offer no solutions.

When I was at my worst, my friend suggested I go along with her to the chiropractor. After some time watching them and learning about how a properly working and balanced body can heal itself, I let him treat me too.

I am so lucky that I found this chiropractor. He didn’t give up on me and offered the solution of freeing my body from the tensions, imbalances and pain that ultimately led to my recovery.

This was quite an experience for me, and is why I’m a chiropractor today.

Have you ever thought about what your body has been dealing with lately? Why it might be achy, painful and unhappy?

I often see clients who experience pain that prevents them from accomplishing even normal activities. Over time this can also take a mental and emotional toll.

Just the other day, one of my clients was so relieved to learn that I deal with sports related injuries and not just back pain. For me, I know it’s all important. If you or someone you know is suffering from similar ailments, give us a call – a chiropractic evaluation and treatment may be just what you need.