A recent survey by the NPD Group, a leading market research company based in Rosemont, Ill., indicates that around 62% of adults and 34% of children are overweight or obese. The prevalence of arthritis amplifies with growing weight. Research implies that cultivating a healthy weight decreases the risk of developing arthritis in the first place and may slow disease progression. A weight decrease of just 11 pounds can lessen the occurrence (incidence) of new knee osteoarthritis and would do a great deal to relieve back pain as well.

In order for an individual to get rid of their back pain, knee pain, and pain in the joints in other regions of the body, a healthy diet and regular exercise is mandatory.  Even though you have no doubt been hearing this for the better part of your life, it truly is the only way for you to get out of pain and regain your life.

First of all, we’ll look at the dieting issue.  There are many different ways to diet and the majority of them are effective only on a temporary basis.  Sadly, the diet industry is not concerned about your losing weight permanently because as a result they would not have you as a customer.  If you’re interested in losing weight efficiently, you are simply going to need to eat a healthy diet as well as to cut your calories so that you use more calories than you take in.  Shedding a lot of pounds too rapidly is not only ineffectual long-term, but unsafe. You should be losing about 2 pounds every week in order for it to be truly effective.

On the subject of exercise, research has confirmed that physical activity lessens pain, improves function, and slows down disability. At least one-half hour of moderate physical activity, a minimum of 3 days a week, has been shown to be effective. Even at 10-minute intervals such movement is beneficial.

Chiropractic treatment is an excellent way to get movement back in the joints of your spine and other places in, and can be a wise first step before you begin an exercise program. A well-aligned spine makes exercise and physical activity a good deal easier and actually slows down arthritic degenerative changes. The Annals of Internal Medicine released the results of a survey of 232 people who had arthritis and were under a rheumatologist’s care.  Of those people, 63% answered the survey by indicating they were utilizing some form of “complementary care” as named by the study.  Of those responders, 31% were utilizing chiropractic. Possibly the most impressive statistic was that 73% of those using chiropractic found it effective.  Indicating why they’d tried the non-medical chiropractic care, people provided a number of reasons: 1) to control pain, 2) they’d heard that it helps, 3) they felt certain 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 helping people suffering from back pain due to arthritis in addition to other arthritic problems for over a hundred years. Your chiropractor treats misaligned vertebra that, in addition to causing arthritic pain and degenerative changes in the spine, can decrease resistance and immunity, which can lead to new health challenges.

It is always a good idea to visit a health care professional to talk about diet and exercise. Your chiropractor is a knowledgeable resource for advice on the sort of lifestyle changes that you will require to aid you in managing your arthritis. By the same token, in addition to correcting any misalignments in your spine, your chiropractor will diagnose any faulty gait patterns or posture irregularities that may be contributing to the pain you are experiencing.

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