Archive for weight loss
Ventura Chiropractor: Don't Let Excess Weight Put Your Joints on Overload
Posted by: | CommentsIt is no secret that carrying around excess body weight, especially as we age, can cause a number of health problems from heart and pulmonary diseases and diabetes to back and joint pain. Surplus poundage puts extra stress on organs, like the heart, and on joints in the low back, hips, and knees. Over half (62%) of American adults are overweight or obese, according to recent studies. That is a gigantic number and a huge problem (no joke).
Excess weight, in the form of body fat, overburdens the structure of the human body. It was not designed for the added. The musculoskeletal system can literally be put on overload with only an additional 20 or 30 pounds. For example, in an effort to compensate (counterbalance) for weight in the belly, the pelvis tilts forward. This causes joints in the low back to compress. Joint compression inhibits nerve function and produces painful inflammation. Most individuals who are overweight suffer from low back pain caused by a pinched sciatic nerve or misalignments of the spinal column that impinge nerves due to weight-bearing stresses. Misaligned vertebra can not only produce new arthritic changes in the spine, but can continue to irritate the degenerative changes that have already taken place over the years.
You may be wondering how chiropractic can help. First of all, to be clear, a healthy body weight is requisite in order for the musculoskeletal system to perform the way it is meant to. That said, in addition, chiropractic treatment relieves nerve impedence in the spine and helps to restore motion back into the joints of the musculoskeletal system, like in the low back, hips, and knees. A spine in alignment and joints that have good mobility make exercise and physical activity a lot easier. Exercise will not only help in weight reduction, but it can actually decelerate degenerative changes as a person ages.
It is always a good plan to make an appointment with a healthcare professional, like your chiropractor, to discuss diet and exercise. Chiropractors not only help people get pain relief from back challenges and joint inflammation due to arthritis, but in addition they offer highly knowledgeable advice on the type of lifestyle changes that can aid a person in staying healthier and more active through the years. arthritis and immobility due to aging don’t have to be inevitable. The human body was meant to move, to walk, even to dance, without pain, for a lifetime.
So, if you’ve been throwing your weight around and all you’ve been getting in return is back and joint pain, your chiropractor can help relieve your suffering. Make an appointment today!
chiropractic Ventura promotes wellness for all ages: Doesn’t it seem that healthy lifestyle information is everywhere you look these days? There are magazines and TV shows all about healthy foods and beneficial exercises. There are even recipes for nutritious meals in the newspaper. But, even though more Americans today are aware that eating nutritious meals, getting exercise, and keeping their body weight down is essential for health and longevity, a new study reported in the June 2009 issue of the American Journal of Medicine has found that the number of middle-aged and older Americans who have adopted a healthy lifestyle has actually declined substantially in the past two decades. Using data from a large government health survey, researchers found that in 2006, only 26 percent of Americans ages 40 to 74 said they ate five or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day. That’s down 16 percent from the 42 percent who responded in the 1988 survey! When it came to exercise, the same kind of decline was reported. Only 43 percent said they worked out at least 12 times per month, versus 53 percent in 1988. Not surprisingly, the rate of obesity in the United States went in the opposite direction, from 28 percent in 1988 to 36 percent in 2006.
The findings were based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a regularly conducted government health survey. Researchers focused on surveys conducted between 1988 and 1994 and between 2001 and 2006, which together included more than 15,000 Americans between the ages of 40 and 74. They looked at rates of five lifestyle factors involved in preventing a range of health risks: maintaining a normal weight, getting regular exercise, eating enough fruits and vegetables, not smoking, and drinking moderate amounts of alcohol.
Though the study cannot tell us why healthy lifestyle habits are on the decline, lead researcher, Dr. Dana E. King, of the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, said that one reason may be that these changes are just difficult to make. “People’s increasingly hectic lives may be making it hard to fit in regular exercise, or to sit down to healthier, home-cooked meals rather than eating take-out.” He suggested some simple steps can make a difference. “It’s not hard, for example, to take some fruit to work with you, instead of going to the vending machine.” (Parking a little farther away from your destination and walking a bit can help, too.) Most importantly, Dr. King stressed that “it’s never too late” for middle-aged and older adults to make lifestyle changes for the better. In fact, in an earlier study, King and his colleagues found that when middle-aged adults newly adopted a healthier lifestyle — including regular exercise and eating more fruits and vegetables — their risk of developing cardiovascular disease or dying over the next several years fell by as much as 40 percent.
If you think about it, there aren’t many things in life that carry an “it’s never too late” guarantee. So, why not start today, no matter what your age may be? Your healthy future is depending on you!
