A current survey by the NPD Group, a leading market research organization based in Rosemont, Ill., reveals that about 62% of adults and 34% of adolescents are overweight or obese. The prevalence of arthritis escalates with accumulating weight. Research indicates that cultivating a healthy weight reduces the risk of developing arthritis in the first place and may decrease degenerative progression. A loss of just 11 pounds can reduce the occurrence (incidence) of new knee osteoarthritis and would be extraordinarily beneficial in reducing back pain as well.

A healthy diet and appropriate exercise is imperative for an individual who desires to overcome their back pain, knee pain, and pain in the joints in other areas of the body.  Even though this counsel presumably doesn’t come as anything new, it really is the only way for you to stop suffering and get your life back. 

First of all, we’ll address the dieting issue.  There are hundreds of different ways to diet and the majority of them are effective only on a temporary basis.  Just think about it, if you were to lose weight for good, the diet industry would lose a life-long customer!  Eating a life-enriching diet (as a lifestyle choice as opposed a temporary fix) and cutting your calories so that you are using more calories than you are taking in is the only approach to losing weight in a healthy, permanent way.  Don’t try to lose 20 pounds every week because that is a limited and perilous fix. You should be losing about 2 pounds every week in order to have positive results.

As far as exercise is concerned, research has shown that physical activity decreases pain, improves function, and slows down disability. At least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity, a minimum of 3 days a week, has proved to be effective. Even at 10-minute intervals such movement is beneficial.

Besides the health advantages your joints will undergo from exercise, chiropractic adjustments are a highly beneficial way to get movement back in the joints of your spine and other areas of your body. A well-adjusted spine makes exercise and physical activity much easier and will slow down arthritic degenerative changes. The Annals of Internal Medicine released the results of a survey of 232 people who were under a rheumatologist’s care for their arthritis.  Of those people, 63% replied to the survey by saying they were utilizing some type of “complementary care” as named by the study.  Of those people, 31% were using chiropractic. Undoubtedly the most notable statistic was that 73% of those utilizing chiropractic found it helpful.  Explaining why they’d tried the non-medical chiropractic care, people gave a number of reasons: 1) to reduce pain, 2) they’d been told that it helps, 3) they felt certain that it is safe, 4) it had helped someone they knew, and 5) because their prescription medication wasn’t stopping the pain.

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

It is always a good idea to see a health care professional to talk about diet and exercise. Your chiropractor is a knowledgeable resource for information on the sort of lifestyle changes that you will find necessary to assist you in managing your arthritis. Moreover, in addition to correcting any misalignments in your spine, your chiropractor will diagnose any faulty gait patterns or posture irregularities that may be compounding your arthritic pain.

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