Archive for April, 2010
You Can’t Afford to Injure Your Joints
I just read an interesting article in the health section of newyorktimes.com about the “financial” benefits of protecting your joints. As a chiropractor, when it comes to the health of the joints of the musculoskeletal system, protecting the joints from injury and unnecessary wear and tear are key to preventing painful and often debilitating problems as our body ages. As I mentioned in past articles, degenerative arthritis can be appreciably decreased and even avoided with proper education, exercise, and treatment. However, I have found that, unfortunately, it’s hard for people to “get motivated” now to do something about potential problems. But, adding a financial incentive may just do the trick!
Did you know that more than 400,000 people a year have one or more hips or knees replaced? And, did you know that the cost for a new hip or knee is $30,000 to $40,000? Even if you have insurance, your out-of-pocket expenses can still be quite substantial, especially when you include the cost of days off from work. The article offered several “preventative measures” that might help your joints to stay healthy longer. And, with the exception of its suggestion that glucosamine and chondroitin “probably are of limited benefit,” I am in agreement with the article’s joint protection suggestions.- control your weight
- stay active in “low impact” exercise and sports
- try to avoid injury
- get fit
- be skeptical*
The article in its entirety is well worth the read (and implementation), even if your current motivation is a only financial one. Click on the link for more information.
* I have witnessed the highly beneficial results of glucosamine ahd chondroitin supplementation.
Corona Chiropractor: Eliminate Hip Pain Now!
Your Corona Chiropractor offers a highly successful non-surgical, drug-free approach to decreasing hip pain and often eliminating it altogether. As most of us know, surgery should be a last resort whenever possible. So, before you decide on hip surgery, ask yourself the following questions: Does hip pain wake you up in the night and make it impossible for you to get a good night’s sleep? When you arise in the morning, and/or when you get out of your car, are you stiff and do you find it difficult at first to get your legs moving sufficiently? Do you feel pain whenever you rotate or twist them or when you cross your legs? If you’ve answered “yes” to any or all of these questions you probably have asymmetries and misalignments in your lower extremities that are not only causing your hip pain, but can lead to degenerative joint disease in your hips in the future if not treated. The good news is that chiropractic treatment can help whether or not degenerative changes have already taken place!
You may be getting older and it may be true that your hip joints aren’t what they used to be. Nonetheless, are you aware that your hip pain (and related problems), which generally point to age-related degenerative conditions, may not actually be created by osteoarthritis? That’s right. In the majority of cases, as opposed to being the original source of your problem, osteoarthritis of the hip joint is often the outcome of a earlier injury (or injuries) to your hips.
Hip problems commonly have to do with asymmetry or imbalance when you are in motion, like walking for example. If you “pronate” when you walk, like a duck, with your toes pointing away from your body, it is inevitable that you will develop pain in your hips as a result of the asymmetrical stress on your hip joints as your body attempts to compensate. However, you can make changes in your gait pattern at any age, and your chiropractor in Corona can help you to do it.
Moreover, you may have developed gait changes because of an ankle sprain or knee strain, and since “the knee bone’s connected to the hip bone,” these biomechanical alterations generate pain in the hip(s). Of course, if not corrected, your hip joints will suffer further consequences, which is the wear and tear that creates degenerative changes.
Other activities that can occasionally impact the hip joints are starting a new job or beginning a new sport that requires you to move your body in unfamiliar ways. Also, carrying a child (or grandchild) on one hip can create hip pain. Even the way you sit or driving for extended periods of time on a routine basis can cause hip injury and pain.
So you can see that not every pain is caused by “old age,” even though we may experience more pain as the result of the progressive activity of untreated injuries.
In addition to your adjustments, as an integral part of your chiropractic management, your Corona Chiropractor will offer individualized rehabilitative exercises that include gentle muscle stretching and strengthening, and will also evaluate your gait and may offer simple pattern changes.
Your hip pain won’t vanish by itself. Hip pain means that something needs correcting. If neglected, more than likely that at some point you will require that hip replacement surgery. So, don’t put off until tomorrow, what truly needs to be done today. Your Corona Chiropractor can eliminate your hip pain, get your body back into balance, and help you get to back to enjoying your life again!
San Diego Chiropractor Asks: Did You Know That Just a Few Extra Pounds Can Put Your Joints on Overload?
As a San Diego Chiropractor, I counsel many individuals who come to my clinic who want to lose weight. I know how hard it can be, and I also know how important it is to lose those extra pounds. What’s an extra pound or two? Over time, those pounds can add up to a surprising number of health issues from heart and pulmonary diseases and diabetes to back challenges and joint degeneration. Surplus poundage puts harmful stress on organs, like the heart, not to mention on joints in the low back, hips, and knees. Over half (62%) of men and women in America are overweight or obese, according to recent studies. That is an extremely compelling number and a truly gigantic problem (no pun intended).
Though we try to pretend otherwise, most of us know that the human body was not designed to carry around surplus poundage in the form of body fat. A mere excess of 20 or 30 pounds can literally overload and encumber the joints and muscles of the body. Added weight in the belly, for example, requires that the body compensate (counterbalance the weight) by tilting the pelvis forward. The tilt puts pressure on the joints of the low back. Painful inflammation results as this joint compression hinders nerve activity. Most men and women who have a heavy midsectionsuffer from low back pain caused by a compressed sciatic nerve or misalignments of the spinal column that restrict nerves as a result of weight-bearing stresses. If not addresses, misaligned vertebra generally create new arthritic changes in the spine over time, as well as persist in irritating the degenerative changes that have already taken place.
Are you wondering how chiropractic can help? First of all, to be clear, a moderate body weight is necessary in order for the musculoskeletal system to act and respond in the way it is designed to. That said, in addition, chiropractic adjustments relieve nerve compression in the vertebral column and assist in getting motion back into the joints of the musculoskeletal system, especially in the low back, hips, and knees. And, certainly exercise and physical activity is a lot easier, and healthier for the body, when the spine is in alignment and the joints have good movement. The added benefit of exercise the, in addition to helping with weight reduction, it can actually inhibit degenerative changes as we age.
Healthcare professionals, like your chiropractor, can advise you regarding your diet and exercise choices. In addition to treating people suffering from back pain and joint inflammation, chiropractors can provide expert suggestions on the particular lifestyle changes that can help a person to stay healthier, more energetic, and more active through the years. Arthritis and immobility due to aging don’t have to be unavoidable. The human body was intended for a lifetime of pain-free movement.
So, if you’ve been thinking that a few extra pounds won’t hurt, think again! As your chiropractor in San Diego, and someone who cares deeply about your overall health, I’d like to help you to make healthier choices. Make an appointment today!
Spring Is In The Air!
Aah, Springtime! The fragrance of daffodils, lilacs, and hyacinth fills the air. However, for some people it's "Achoo!" Springtime because, unfortunately, along with the lovely fragrance of spring blooms comes pollen and other materials that ride on the sweet air currents as well! Seasonal allergies can make your everyday life miserable. Rather than relaxation, a walk in the park can produce itchy eyes, a runny nose, sneezing, or even a skin rash.
Fortunately, if you're one of those people whose immune system virtually "freaks out" when spring is in the air, chiropractic treatment may help to relieve your allergy symptoms. How?
Well, even though chiropractic care doesn't actually treat allergies, per se, chiropractic manipulation affects the entire nervous system, including the autoimmune system, which is the source of your allergic responses. When the detritus of spring floats your way, your autoimmune system, whose task it is to help you to adapt and respond appropriately to your environment, becomes overactive. Since chiropractic adjustments can lessen or even completely eliminate disturbances in the nervous system and bring back balance and harmony to the whole body, along with a variety of healthy corrections, chiropractic adjustments provide homeostasis to the autoimmune system as well. A healthy immune system responds appropriately to so-called allergens in the environment, including pollen.
So, if you want to get back into harmony with birds and the bees and the flowers and trees, give your chiropractor a call. Springtime should be nothing to sneeze at!