Take arthritis for example. In point of fact, with the exception of pharmaceuticals, traditional medicine fails to address this age-related affliction. What is the reason? The answer is that most medical doctors treat the symptoms of arthritis. The chiropractic approach is to discover the origin of the condition and treat the pain at its source.  For more than one hundred years, chiropractors, like your Chiropractor in Santa Clara, have been helping individuals suffering from back pain and other problems caused by arthritic changes in the musculoskeletal system.

Arthritic changes occur as your body ages because, over time, wear of certain joints takes place as a consequence of repetitive stresses, as well as years of poor gait, bad posture, and lack of beneficial movement. Chiropractic adjustments reestablish motion in your joints and ease any vertebral misalignments that may be producing irritation and restriction. In addition to causing arthritic changes in the spine and increasing pain, did you know that misaligned vertebra can also lower your resistance and immunity? It’s an irrefutable fact, and this may be one of the reasons why it may seem that as you get older you develop more health problems and that it often takes longer for you to feel better again. Studies have shown that older individuals who are under chiropractic care stay healthier. In fact, you could say that, as you get older, chiropractic treatment is good for what ails you!

Chiropractors are experts when it comes to the health of the musculoskeletal system, from the small, growing frame of an infant to the full-grown body of an aging adult.  Your chiropractor understands the aging process and has exceptional observational and diagnostic skills that aid in locating spinal misalignments and joint problems. A chiropractic examination can, in fact, frequently reveal some age-related conditions before they’ve begun to create noticeable pain. Furthermore, your Chiropractor in Santa Clara can evaluate your posture and analyze your gait to identify faulty patterns that could generate further arthritic changes.

So, if feeling your age has become a painful experience, make an appointment with your Santa Clara Chiropractor today!

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Visiting a San Jose chiropractor is truly one of the most beneficial things that you can do to gain relief from your arthritis and back pain. Chiropractors are doctors who practice entirely in treating the muscular and skeletal system, and arthritis is a joint condition. Chiropractic care has helped many people to slow the process of arthritis by getting their joints moving. Movement is very important for joint health. A good chiropractor is extremely skilled in treating back pain, even when it is caused by arthritis

If you have never gone to a chiropractor before, you might be a bit concerned about what is going to occur once you are in the office. It might help to give a quick overview about what you can expect. You will be asked about your medical history, which will conceivably include a family history of arthritis. The chiropractor will want to know about your current lifestyle and may offer specific modifications that will be beneficial for lessening the inflammation produced by arthritis. And, finally, you will receive a complete examination. After the examination is complete, the chiropractor will let you know if chiropractic management can help your back pain, as well as relieve your painful arthritic symptoms. After that you will be told about the specific treatment you will require.

A chiropractic adjustment relieves pain gently and naturally, and it is a painless process. And, the most wonderful aspect of going to a chiropractor for your back pain and arthritis is that you can feel certain that the cause of your pain is being addressed, and that the relief you experience is not masking the symptom of pain, but genuinely treating the origin of your affliction.

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A recent survey by the NPD Group, a leading market research organization based in Rosemont, Ill., reveals that approximately 62% of men and women and 34% of adolescents are overweight or obese. The prevalence of arthritis escalates with increasing weight. Research implies that maintaining a healthy weight lessens the risk of developing arthritis in the first place and may decelerate degenerative progression. A loss of just 11 pounds can decrease the occurrence (incidence) of new knee osteoarthritis and would be extraordinarily beneficial in reducing back pain as well.

A healthy diet and routine exercise is mandatory for a person who wants to overcome their back pain, knee pain, and joint pain in other areas of the body.  Although you have probably been told this for the majority of your life, it truly is the only solution for you to get out of pain and regain your life.

First of all, we’ll look at the dieting issue.  The majority diets (and there are plenty from which to choose) can be temporarily useful.  Unfortunately, the diet industry is not interested in having you lose weight permanently because as a result they would not have you as a customer.  If you’re interested in losing weight productively, you must 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 quickly is not only ineffectual long-term, but dangerous. Losing about 2 pounds every week will help you to lose the weight permanently and healthfully.

Research has confirmed that exercise and physical activity not only decreases pain and augments function, but genuinely delays disability. A minimum of one-half hour of moderate physical activity, a minimum of 3 days a week, has proved to be effective. You can get activity in 10-minute intervals.

Along with the benefits your joints will get from exercise, chiropractic treatment is a proved way to get motion back in the joints of your spine and other places in your body. A well-aligned spine makes exercise and physical activity a lot easier and actually slows down arthritic degenerative changes. The Annals of Internal Medicine published the findings 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 utilizing some form of “complementary care” as named by the study.  Of those responders, 31% were using chiropractic. Possibly the most notable statistic was that 73% of those using chiropractic found it beneficial.  Explaining why they’d tried the non-medical chiropractic care, people offered a number of reasons: 1) to reduce pain, 2) they’d been told that it helps, 3) they felt confident that it is safe, 4) it had assisted someone they knew, and 5) because their prescription medication wasn’t working.

Chiropractors, also called doctors of chiropractic, have been aiding men and women suffering from back pain due to arthritis as well as other arthritic problems for over a hundred years. Your  chiropractor treats misaligned vertebra that, in addition to producing arthritic pain and degenerative changes in the spine, can lower resistance and immunity, thus causing new health challenges.

It is always a good idea to see a health care professional to talk about diet and exercise. Your chiropractor is an excellent resource for advice on the sort of lifestyle changes that you will need to assist you in managing your arthritis. Furthermore, in addition to getting your spine in alignment through gentle adjustments, your chiropractor will analyze any faulty gait patterns or posture irregularities that may be adding to the pain you are experiencing.

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Osteoarthritis and Chiropractic Care

Osteoarthritis, degenerative arthritis, or degenerative joint disease (DJD) are the terms for the most common form of arthritis, which is also called, spondylosis, if it occurs in the spine. Primarily, the condition is due to the deterioration of the cartilage that lines the joint surfaces, and it is found not only in humans, but also in all mammals. Degenerative changes in the joint occurs when joint cartilage is injured and causes stress to the sensitive bone tissue that is usually protected by the cartilage. Sometimes, osteophytes, or bone spurs, can develop when the bone around the joint proliferates. Bone spurs cause painful inflammation to other tissues around the joint aggravating the already grievous condition.

As a rule areas of the body that develop degenerative joints are in the spine, principally in the lower neck and lower back, the knees, the hips and the fingers. Everyone may experience DJD at one point in their lives, though previous trauma, ones occupation, activities, weight, diet, and heredity influence the degree of the condition and its onset.

The symptoms of DJD perpetually involve some degree of pain and/or stiffness in the body part involved. As the condition continues there can be loss of mobility, especially when weight-bearing joints such as hips or knees are implicated.  As a last resort joints can be surgically replaced with synthetic devices. This should be done only in severe cases where the joint is appreciably worn and movement is unattainable without severe pain.

Prevention is unquestionably the best option, beginning at an early age.

• One should always guarantee that, especially when young, all injuries to joints are properly managed to insure proper healing to avoid future disability.
• Shoes with suitable support and shock absorption should be worn by those whose jobs demand extended periods of standing or walking.
• Excess body weight can create increased stress upon the weight bearing joints of the body.

• Care should be taken to cushion knees from pain aad strain when kneeling on hard surfaces.

• Eat a diet high in fruits and vegetables as they contain natural vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that are essential for the health of the joints, as well as the rest of the body.

Recent studies have shown that long-term use of the nutritional supplement, Glucosamine, can not only assist with DJD symptoms, but may actually help to rebuild joint cartilage.

Chiropractic adjustments are not only sound, but an effective treatment for arthritis, and can help to restore proper mobility and function to the spinal joints, thereby giving patients great relief. Your Chicago chiropractor has many of years of expertise in helping people with arthritis pain. Other forms of chiropractic care may include joint mobilization, massage, ultrasound, cold laser, or electro-therapy, all of which may be helpful in the relief of painful and stiff joints. Occasionally, a brace is required to secure the joint and relieve pain. A chiropractor may suggest exercises such as stretching, yoga, tai chi and other gentle mobilizing activities to help maintain arthritic joints.

Gout

An elevated level of uric acid in the blood and the deposition of uric acid crystals in the joints produce gouty arthritis. Generally, gouty arthritis is characterized by intense pain and swelling of the joints in the big toes, knees, ankles and wrists. A large number of people who develop gout are predisposed through heredity, though episodes are more often than not brought on by binge eating of the wrong foods, when dehydrated or fasting, or after a major surgery or illness. Foods that must be avoided have a natural substance called Purines that are metabolized in the liver to form uric acid. People with this condition cannot effectively metabolize uric acid, thus the buildup in the bloodstream and the resultant joint problems. The foods most associated with high purine content are: red meat especially organ meat, certain seafood, legumes, mushrooms and other foods as well. There are other dietary restrictions that must be followed including refraining from drinking alcohol.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis, a chronic inflammatory disease, is systemic in nature and thought to be produced by immune system dysfunction. The most common joints affected are the small joints of the hands and fingers, the feet, knees, and shoulder, while other areas of the body can be affected as well. The condition is most often associated with morning stiffness that is aggravated by motion. Frequently people complain of general malaise and fatigue, and the disease in its more advanced forms can affect many of the other body systems. Rheumatoid arthritis can be easily identified through definitive blood tests. Though, currently, there is no cure, in addition to medication and vitamin and diet therapy, treatment should include chiropractic adjustments to mobilize joints and help to relieve the pain and stiffness accompanying this disease. Additional modalities such as ultrasound, heat, electro-therapy, and massage may also be helpful. Your Chicago chiropractor is dedicated to helping sufferers in getting relief from the pain and suffering associated with arthritis.

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