Exercise guidance with Dr. Caplan
Research over the past few years has revealed more and more about the benefits of exercise at all ages. Here are a few:
- diminish Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- banish or mitigate depression
- discourage certain cancers
- lower blood pressure
- prevent osteoporosis
- increase HDL levels (“good” cholesterol)
- prevent Diabetes Type II
- boost energy
- improve sleep
- stave off dementia
- improve balance
The type of exercise Dr. Caplan focuses on, however, is the exercise that corrects poor body mechanics and balances muscles with the aim of improving body alignment. Broadly speaking there are two types of therapy for the body: passive therapy, and active therapy.
Passive therapy is any therapeutic procedure you have done to you. This ranges from massage therapy to surgery and includes chiropractic care. Active therapy is anything you do under your own steam, meaning: exercise! Research over recent years has shown unequivocally that active therapy multiplies the results of passive therapy many times while also conferring the benefits listed above. An interesting observation in experiments on back muscles and low back pain was that while muscle size and metabolism within exercised back muscles may not have changed there were still positive changes in chronic back pain sufferers. This suggests a facilitation of neural feedback from the “woken up” muscles into the central nervous system. While muscle mass may not have significantly increased, function DID.
Therapeutic exercise for other joints in the body, shoulder, hip, etc., is crucial for recovery of these joints. For example, a patient with chronic hip pain may have weak pelvic muscles combined with tight leg muscles. When the weak muscles are strengthened, and the tight muscles are stretched, the proper biomechanics of hip motion are restored and pain gradually disappears. Through careful assessment of this type of muscle imbalance Dr. Caplan is able to target the exact corrective measures needed.
To discuss your treatment options through exercise, call our office to setup an appointment.