San Diego Chiropractor Advises: Don’t Let Excess Weight Put Your Joints on Overload
ByAs 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 the harm in being just a few pounds overweight? Over the years, extra weight can add up to a large number of health challenges from heart and pulmonary diseases and diabetes to back challenges and joint degeneration. Extra pounds put undue stress on organs, like the heart, as well as on joints in the low back, hips, and knees. Regrettably,more than half (62%) of men and women in the U.S. are overweight or obese, according to recent studies. That is a very significant percentage and a sizable problem (no pun intended).
Though it is able to compensate to some degree the human body has not evolved to transport surplus poundage in the form of body fat. Just an additional 20 or 30 pounds can literally overload and overburden the joints and muscles of the body. Added weight in the belly, for instance, requires that the body compensate (counterbalance the weight) by tilting the pelvis forward. The tilt puts pressure on the joints of the low back. Joint compression impedes nerve activity and causes painful inflammation. Most men and women who have a heavy midsectionfeel substantial pain in their low back generated by a pinched sciatic nerve or spinal misalignments that restrict nerves as a result of weight-bearing stresses. If left untreated, misaligned vertebra not only continue to irritate the degenerative changes that have taken place already, but can create new arthritic changes in the spine in the future.
How can chiropractic help? To begin with the obvious, a healthy body weight is necessary in order for the musculoskeletal system to function in the way it is built to. That said, in addition, chiropractic adjustments relieve nerve compression in the spine and help to get motion back into the joints of the musculoskeletal system, particularly in the low back, hips, and knees. And, naturally exercise and physical activity are a lot easier, and more beneficial for the body, when the the joints have good movement and the spine is aligned. Not only will exercise help with weight reduction, but it can actually inhibit degenerative changes as the body ages.
Healthcare professionals, like your chiropractor, can talk to you about your diet and exercise choices. In addition to helping people suffering from back pain and joint inflammation, chiropractors offer proficient advice on the kinds of lifestyle modifications that can help an individual to stay healthier, more vigorous, and more active through the years. Arthritis and immobility due to aging don’t have to be unavoidable. The structure of the human body is intended to carry a person through an entire lifetime of pain-free movement.
So, if those extra pounds have been sneaking up on you, and they’ve turned into a surprising load of pain, as your San Diego chiropractor and someone who understands, I can help. Make an appointment today!