Performance Chiropractic and Sports Care » excess weight http://www.sacramentochiropractor.org Tue, 07 Sep 2010 19:04:04 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 Sacramento Chiropractor: Are Extra Pounds Putting Your Joints on Overload? http://www.sacramentochiropractor.org/health/sacramento-chiropractor-are-extra-pounds-putting-your-joints-on-overload http://www.sacramentochiropractor.org/health/sacramento-chiropractor-are-extra-pounds-putting-your-joints-on-overload#comments Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:25:50 +0000 admin http://www.sacramentochiropractor.org/?p=309 It is no secret that carrying around excess body weight, especially as we age, can cause a number of health problems from cardiovascular diseases and diabetes to back and joint pain. Extra body weight puts undue 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 very significant number and a big problem (no joke).

Excessive weight, in the form of body fat, is hard on the structure of the human body. It was not designed for the added. Only an additional 20 or 30 pounds can put the musculoskeletal system literally on overload. Weight in the belly, for instance, requires that the body compensate (counterbalance the weight) by tilting the pelvis forward. This creates compression in the joints of the low back. Joint compression constricts nerve activity and produces painful inflammation. Weight-bearing stresses can cause a pinched sciatic nerve or create misalignments of the spinal column that impinge nerves. This is the reason that most overweight individuals suffer from low back pain. Misaligned vertebra can not only create new arthritic changes in the spine, but can continue to irritate the degenerative changes that have already taken place over time.

How can chiropractic help? Though a healthy body weight is absolutely indispensible for the ideal performance of the musculoskeletal system, chiropractic treatment relieves nerve restrictions in the spine and helps to restore motion back into the joints of the musculoskeletal system, like in the low back, hips, and knees. And, exercise and physical activity is a lot easier when the spine is in alignment and the joints have healthy motion. Exercise will not only help in weight reduction, but it can actually delay degenerative changes as we age.

It is always best to discuss diet and exercise with a healthcare professional, like your chiropractor. Chiropractors not only help individuals get pain relief from back challenges and joint inflammation due to arthritis, but in addition they offer expert advice on the type of lifestyle changes that can aid an individual in staying healthier and more active through the years. Arthritis and immobility as we get older do not have to be inevitable. The human body was designed for a lifetime of pain-free movement.

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!

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