Will Weight Loss Relieve Painful Arthritis?
June 23, 2009San Diego Chiropractor: Chiropractic and Arthritis
Do you have back pain due to arthritis? Do you also have a challenge with your weight? If you do, it’s conceivable that you’re having back pain not only because of arthritis, but also because of the strain your weight is putting on your spine. The body was not intended to carry around additional weight in the form of body fat. If you are carrying around even an additional 20 or 30 pounds on a regular basis, your spine, which supports the body, is being put under a great deal of strain. This sort of stress can produce abnormalities of the vertebral column. These misaligned vertebra can cause arthritic changes in the spine and continue to aggravate the degenerative changes that have begun. In addition, your body may offset in other ways, like your hips moving forward or tilting to support the additional pounds. This can compress the sciatic nerve, which is extremely painful.
A current survey by the NPD Group, a leading market research company based in Rosemont, Ill., reveals that approximately 62% of men and women and 34% of children are overweight or obese. The ubiquitousness of arthritis increases with growing weight. Research indicates that maintaining a healthy weight reduces the risk of developing arthritis in the first place and may decrease disease progression. A weight decrease of just 11 pounds can reduce the occurrence (incidence) of new knee osteoarthritis and would be highly beneficial in relieving back pain as well.
A healthy diet and routine exercise is definitely necessary for anyone who wants to overcome their back pain, knee pain, and pain in the joints in other areas of the body. Although you have probably been advised about this for most of your life, it really is the only solution for you to get out of pain and regain your life.
First of all, we’ll address the dieting issue. There are a huge number of different ways to diet and many of them are effective only for a limited period. It may sound cynical, but let’s face it, if you were to lose weight permanently, the diet industry would lose a regular customer! Eating a life-enriching diet (as a lifestyle choice and not just a temporary fix) and cutting your calories so that you are at a slight calorie “deficit,” is the only way to lose weight in a healthy, permanent manner. Don’t attempt to lose 20 pounds every week because that is a temporary and perilous fix. A good goal is to lose about 2 pounds every week in order to have positive results.
Research has shown that exercise and physical activity not only decreases pain and enhances function, but truly slows the process of disability. A minimum of 30 minutes of moderate physical activity, at least 3 days a week, has been confirmed to be effective. You can get activity in 10-minute intervals.
Along with the good your joints will undergo from exercise, chiropractic treatment is an excellent way to get mobility back in the joints of your spine and other regions of your body. A well-adjusted spine makes exercise and physical activity much easier and actually slows down arthritic degenerative changes. The Annals of Internal Medicine reported the results of a survey of 232 people who were under a rheumatologist’s care for their arthritis. Of those people, 63% responded to the survey by stating that they were taking advantage of some kind of “complementary care” as named by the study. Of those individuals, 31% were trying chiropractic. Likely the most impressive statistic was that 73% of those utilizing chiropractic found it helpful. Answering why they’d tried the non-medical chiropractic care, people gave a number of reasons: 1) to control pain, 2) they’d heard that it helps, 3) they felt assured that it is safe, 4) it had aided someone they knew, and 5) because their prescription medication wasn’t stopping the pain.
Chiropractors, also called doctors of chiropractic, have been assisting people suffering from back pain due to arthritis and other arthritic problems for over a hundred years. Your San Diego chiropractor treats misaligned vertebra that, in addition to creating arthritic pain and degenerative changes in the spine, can decrease resistance and immunity, thus causing new health challenges.
It is always smart to see a health care professional to discuss diet and exercise. Your chiropractor is an excellent resource for information on the type of lifestyle changes that you will require to aid you in managing your arthritis. Moreover, besides correcting any misalignments in your spine, your chiropractor will analyze any faulty gait patterns or posture irregularities that may be adding to the pain you are experiencing.