Everyday aches can build up from work, activity, lifting and long periods in one position. Learn how chiropractic care may help manage musculoskeletal discomfort.
Your Body Doesn’t Only Hurt When Something Goes Wrong
Not every ache starts with a major injury.
Sometimes it is the lower back that feels stiff when you get out of bed. Sometimes your shoulders feel tight after a long day at work. Your neck might become uncomfortable after hours at a computer, or your hips and back may feel sore after spending the weekend doing jobs around the house.
For many people, these aches gradually become part of everyday life.
You might think:
“It’s probably just getting older.”
“I must have slept funny.”
“I’ll give it a few days.”
“I just need to stretch more.”
Sometimes the discomfort does settle down.
But when aches keep returning, become more noticeable, or start affecting the activities you enjoy, it can be useful to understand why they are happening in the first place.
This is where an individual assessment with a chiropractor may be worth considering.
At The Melbourne Chiropractor, chiropractic care can form part of a broader approach to managing musculoskeletal discomfort, with the aim of understanding how you move, identifying factors that may be contributing to your symptoms and developing an appropriate plan for your situation.
The Accumulation Effect: How Everyday Life Can Affect Your Body
Think about a typical day.
You wake up and immediately notice that your lower back feels stiff.
You get ready for work, drive for 30 or 40 minutes and sit at a desk for several hours.
You spend much of the morning looking at a computer screen.
At lunch, you remain seated while eating.
The afternoon involves more sitting.
You drive home.
Once you arrive, you pick up the shopping, help the kids, prepare dinner and perhaps spend another hour on the couch.
None of these activities is necessarily a problem on its own.
The issue can sometimes be the total amount of time spent in similar positions or performing similar movements without enough variation, recovery or conditioning.
Your body has to continually adapt to what you ask it to do.
If the demands placed on it regularly exceed what it is currently prepared to tolerate, discomfort can develop.
This doesn’t necessarily mean something is seriously damaged.
It does mean that your symptoms may be worth investigating if they continue.
Common Everyday Activities That Can Contribute to Aches
There are countless ways modern life can place physical demands on the body.
Sitting for long periods
Long periods of sitting can leave some people feeling stiff through the:
- Lower back
- Hips
- Neck
- Shoulders
- Upper back
Changing position regularly and incorporating movement throughout the day can be useful.
Driving
Driving combines prolonged sitting with limited movement.
Long commutes can be particularly challenging if you already experience back or neck discomfort.
Lifting
Picking up children, moving furniture, carrying groceries or performing physical work can all place demands on the muscles and joints.
The problem isn’t necessarily that lifting is bad.
In fact, lifting is an important part of everyday life.
The goal is often to develop the capacity to perform these activities safely and comfortably.
Exercise
Exercise is important for overall health, but suddenly increasing your training volume or intensity can sometimes result in temporary aches or injury.
For example, you may go from doing very little exercise to suddenly training five days a week.
Your body needs time to adapt.
Sleep
Your sleeping position, mattress, pillow and the amount of sleep you get can all influence how you feel in the morning.
However, morning stiffness doesn’t automatically mean that your mattress or pillow is the cause.
A broader assessment may be useful if symptoms continue.
Why Do Aches Keep Coming Back?
One of the most frustrating things about musculoskeletal pain is when it seems to disappear — only to return weeks or months later.
For example:
You experience lower back pain.
You rest for a few days.
It improves.
You return to your normal routine.
Several weeks later, the discomfort comes back.
This can happen for many reasons.
Your symptoms may have improved without the factors contributing to them changing.
Perhaps your workload remained the same.
Perhaps you continued sitting for eight hours a day.
Perhaps your training schedule increased again.
Perhaps you never rebuilt strength or movement capacity after the original episode.
Or perhaps the original pain was unrelated to those factors altogether.
This is why simply asking “Where does it hurt?” may not provide the whole picture.
A chiropractor may look at how the surrounding areas move, your activity levels, your work demands, previous injuries and other factors that could be relevant to your presentation.
Chiropractic Care Isn’t Just About the Area That Hurts
One common misconception is that chiropractic treatment is simply about treating the painful area.
In reality, an assessment may consider the broader musculoskeletal system.
For someone experiencing lower back discomfort, for example, a chiropractor may consider:
- Spinal movement
- Hip movement
- Muscle function
- Previous injuries
- Work demands
- Exercise habits
- General activity levels
- Symptoms and their history
Similarly, someone with shoulder discomfort may benefit from having the neck, upper back, shoulder and surrounding movement patterns considered as part of the assessment.
The purpose isn’t to assume that one particular body part is responsible.
It’s to build a clearer picture of what may be contributing to the person’s symptoms.
What Happens During a Chiropractic Assessment?
Your first appointment will generally begin with a conversation about your health and the problem you’re experiencing.
You may be asked questions such as:
- When did your symptoms begin?
- Did anything trigger them?
- What makes them better or worse?
- Are they affecting your work?
- Are they affecting exercise or sport?
- Have you experienced similar symptoms before?
- Have you had previous injuries?
- What activities do you normally do?
Your chiropractor may then assess relevant areas of your movement and musculoskeletal function.
Depending on the presentation, treatment may include manual therapy, mobilisation, spinal manipulation where appropriate, soft-tissue techniques, movement advice or exercises.
Not every technique is appropriate for every person.
A good treatment plan should be based on your individual presentation rather than applying exactly the same approach to everyone.
The Goal Isn’t Always “Perfect Posture”
People often assume their aches are caused by having poor posture.
Posture can certainly be relevant for some people, but there isn’t one perfect posture that everyone needs to maintain all day.
Your body is designed to move.
A more useful question is often:
How much variety and movement does your body get throughout the day?
Someone can sit with excellent posture for two hours and still become uncomfortable.
Another person may regularly change position, stand, walk and move throughout the day and feel perfectly fine despite not maintaining a textbook posture.
Instead of becoming obsessed with sitting perfectly, consider creating more opportunities for movement.
Try:
- Standing up regularly
- Walking during phone calls
- Changing your workstation position
- Taking short movement breaks
- Stretching when it feels useful
- Strength training
- Walking more throughout the day
- Changing your sitting position
Small changes can add up.
Your Body Needs Capacity, Not Just Treatment
One of the most important parts of managing recurring aches is considering what your body is capable of doing.
Imagine someone who hasn’t exercised for six months suddenly deciding to run 10 kilometres.
Their body may not have the conditioning necessary to tolerate that workload.
The same principle applies to everyday life.
If your job involves lifting, your body needs to tolerate lifting.
If you play weekend sport, your body needs to tolerate sprinting, changing direction and repeated physical activity.
If you’re a parent, your body needs to cope with bending, carrying, lifting and getting down on the floor.
If you work at a desk, your body needs to tolerate periods of sitting while still getting regular movement throughout the day.
Treatment can be one part of the process.
Building strength, mobility and physical capacity can also be important.
When Everyday Aches Shouldn’t Be Ignored
Most everyday musculoskeletal aches are not emergencies.
However, there are situations where professional medical assessment is important.
Seek urgent medical attention if you experience symptoms such as:
- Severe or rapidly worsening pain
- Significant weakness
- Loss of bladder or bowel control
- Numbness around the groin or saddle region
- Major trauma
- Unexplained weight loss
- Fever with significant pain
- Chest pain or difficulty breathing
- Other unusual or concerning symptoms
These symptoms require appropriate medical assessment rather than simply assuming the problem is musculoskeletal.
A chiropractor should also refer you to another healthcare professional when your presentation falls outside the appropriate scope of chiropractic care.
What Can You Do Between Appointments?
Your daily habits matter.
Even if you receive treatment, your body still has to deal with your normal routine once you leave the clinic.
Consider looking at your:
Work routine
Are you sitting continuously for several hours?
Can you incorporate short movement breaks?
Exercise
Are you doing enough activity?
Or have you increased your training too quickly?
Sleep
Are you consistently getting enough sleep?
Does your sleeping position appear to aggravate your symptoms?
Daily movement
How much walking do you do?
How often do you change positions?
Strength
Do your muscles have the capacity to handle the activities you regularly perform?
Recovery
Are you allowing enough time between demanding physical activities?
These questions can sometimes be more useful than simply asking which stretch you should perform.
Chiropractic Care Can Be Part of a Bigger Approach
Managing back and body aches doesn’t necessarily need to involve one single treatment.
Depending on your circumstances, a broader approach may involve:
Chiropractic care
For appropriate musculoskeletal presentations, manual therapy and movement-based care may form part of management.
Exercise
Strength and conditioning can help improve physical capacity.
General activity
Walking and regular movement are important parts of a healthy lifestyle.
Workplace changes
Small adjustments to how you work can make your day more manageable.
Sleep and recovery
Adequate recovery is important for physical wellbeing.
Other healthcare professionals
Physiotherapists, exercise physiologists, GPs and other practitioners may all have an appropriate role depending on the problem.
The best approach depends on the individual.
Why Choose a Melbourne Chiropractor?
If you’re searching for a chiropractor in Melbourne, convenience can make a difference.
When appointments are difficult to get to, it can be harder to stay consistent with your care.
The Melbourne Chiropractor provides chiropractic services across its Melbourne locations, making it easier for local patients to access care.
Whether you’re dealing with back stiffness after work, recurring neck discomfort, aches from exercise or general musculoskeletal discomfort, the first step is understanding what’s happening.
Rather than trying to diagnose yourself based on an internet search, an individual assessment can help determine whether chiropractic care is appropriate for you.
Don’t Wait Until an Ache Becomes Your Normal
One of the easiest things to do when you’re experiencing a mild ache is to ignore it.
You carry on working.
You continue exercising.
You keep looking after the family.
You tell yourself you’ll deal with it later.
Sometimes that is completely reasonable.
But if the same discomfort continues to return, gradually becomes more frequent or starts changing what you can comfortably do, it may be worth having it assessed.
You don’t need to wait until you are unable to move before seeking professional advice.
The purpose of an assessment isn’t necessarily to find something wrong.
It’s to understand what’s happening and determine what, if anything, can be done to help.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a chiropractor help with general body aches?
Chiropractic care may be appropriate for some musculoskeletal aches and pains. Your chiropractor will assess your symptoms and determine whether chiropractic management is suitable for your situation.
Is chiropractic care only for back pain?
No. Chiropractors can assess and manage a range of musculoskeletal presentations involving areas such as the neck, back, shoulders and other joints, depending on their training and the individual presentation.
How many chiropractic appointments will I need?
There is no universal number of appointments. The appropriate approach depends on your symptoms, goals, response to care and overall circumstances.
Be cautious of anyone guaranteeing a specific number of treatments or promising a permanent result.
Can I exercise while seeing a chiropractor?
Often, appropriate exercise and movement can form an important part of managing musculoskeletal problems. However, the type and intensity of exercise should be appropriate for your current condition.
Should I see a chiropractor if my pain keeps coming back?
Recurring symptoms are worth discussing with an appropriately qualified healthcare professional. An assessment may help identify factors that could be contributing and determine whether chiropractic care is appropriate.
Is chiropractic treatment suitable for everyone?
No. Chiropractic care isn’t appropriate for every person or every condition. A proper history and assessment are important, and referral to another healthcare professional may be recommended where appropriate.
Ready to Understand What’s Behind Your Aches?
You shouldn’t have to simply accept recurring aches and stiffness as part of everyday life.
If you’re experiencing back pain, neck stiffness, joint discomfort or other musculoskeletal aches, The Melbourne Chiropractor can assess your presentation and discuss whether chiropractic care may be appropriate for you.
Book an appointment today:
Visit The Melbourne Chiropractor
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📍 Broadmeadows
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https://themelbournechiropractor.com.au