Do you suffer from painful arthritis? Do you also have a challenge with your weight? If you’ve answered yes to both questions, more than likely you’re having back pain not only because of arthritis, but also because of the burden your weight is putting on your spine. The body was not designed to carry around additional weight in the form of body fat. Your spine, which supports your body, is being put under a great deal of strain even if you are only carrying an additional 20 or 30 pounds all the time. This kind of strain can cause abnormalities of the vertebral column. These misaligned vertebra can produce arthritic changes in the spine and persist in irritating the degenerative changes that have begun. Furthermore, your body may compensate in other ways, such as by your hips moving forward or tilting to counterbalance the additional pounds. This can pinch the sciatic nerve, which is intensely painful.
A new survey by the NPD Group, a leading market research organization based in Rosemont, Ill., reveals that about 62% of men and women and 34% of adolescents are overweight or obese. The prevalence of arthritis increases with accumulating weight. Research implies that maintaining a healthy weight lessens the risk of developing arthritis in the first place and may decelerate disease progression. A reduction of just 11 pounds can lessen the occurrence (incidence) of new knee osteoarthritis and would be extremely helpful in relieving back pain as well.
A nutritious diet and routine exercise is definitely necessary for anyone who desires to overcome their back pain, knee pain, and joint pain in other areas of the body. Although it’s an easily apparent solution, it truly is the only action for you to take in order to stop suffering and get your life back.
First of all, we’ll look at the dieting issue. Most diets (and there are plenty from which to choose) can be temporarily useful. Just think about it, if you were to lose weight for keeps, the diet industry would lose a good customer! If you’re interested in losing weight efficiently, you must eat a healthy diet and also to cut your calories so that you are at a slight calorie deficit. Don’t attempt to lose 20 pounds every week because that is an unhealthy and perilous fix. Losing about 2 pounds every week will take off the weight and improve your health.
Research has confirmed that exercise and physical activity not only relieves pain and enhances function, but actually slows the process of disability. Make sure you get at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity at least 3 days a week. You can get activity in 10-minute intervals.
Chiropractic adjustments are a highly beneficial way to get mobility back in the joints of your spine and other regions of, and can be a good first step prior to starting an exercise program. A well-adjusted spine makes exercise and physical activity a good deal easier and actually slows down arthritic degenerative changes. The Annals of Internal Medicine published the findings of a survey of 232 people who had arthritis and were under a rheumatologist’s care. Of those people, 63% replied to the survey by saying they were utilizing some kind of “complementary care” as named by the study. Of those people, 31% were utilizing chiropractic. Possibly the most notable statistic was that 73% of those trying chiropractic found it beneficial. Answering why they’d tried the non-medical chiropractic care, people offered a number of reasons: 1) to reduce pain, 2) they’d been told that it helps, 3) they felt confident that it is safe, 4) it had assisted someone they knew, and 5) because their prescription medication wasn’t working.
Chiropractors, also called doctors of chiropractic, have been aiding people suffering from back pain due to arthritis as well as other arthritic problems for over a hundred years. Your San Diego chiropractor treats misaligned vertebra that, in addition to causing arthritic pain and degenerative changes in the spine, can decrease resistance and immunity, thereby causing new health challenges.
It is always wise to see a health care professional to talk about diet and exercise. Your chiropractor is an excellent resource for education about the sort of lifestyle changes that you will find necessary to assist you in managing your arthritis. Moreover, in addition to correcting any misalignments in your spine, your chiropractor will diagnose any faulty gait patterns or posture irregularities that may be adding to your arthritic pain.