As a Chiropractor in San Diego, I counsel many individuals who come to my clinic who want to lose weight. I know how hard it can be, and I also know how important it is to lose those extra pounds. What’s the harm in being just a few pounds overweight? As we age, those pounds can add up to a substantial number of health challenges from heart and pulmonary diseases and diabetes to back challenges and joint degeneration. Even a few additional pounds put harmful stress on organs, like the heart, not to mention on joints in the low back, hips, and knees. Over half (62%) of men and women in the U.S. are overweight or obese, according to recent studies. That is an extremely compelling percentage and a truly gigantic problem (no pun intended).
It is likely no surprise to you to learn that the human body was not intended to carry around surplus weight in the form of body fat. Just 20 or 30 extra pounds can veritably overload and encumber the musculoskeletal system. Extra weight in the tummy, for example, makes it necessary for the body to compensate (counterbalance the weight) by tilting the pelvis forward. This shift creates compression in the joints of the low back. Painful inflammation results as this joint compression hinders nerve activity. The majority of men and women who have a heavy midsectionfeel substantial pain in their low back as the result of a compressed sciatic nerve or misalignments of the spinal column that impinge nerves as a consequence of weight-bearing stresses. If left untreated, misaligned vertebra in most cases produce new arthritic changes in the spine over time, as well as continue to irritate the degenerative changes that have already taken place.
Here are the ways in which chiropractic treatment can help. To begin with the obvious, a healthy body weight is required in order for the musculoskeletal system to act and respond in the way it is meant to. Chiropractic treatment can not only relieve pain generated by excess weight compensation, but it can aid in weight reduction. Here’s how. Chiropractic adjustments relieve nerve compression in the spinal column and help to get motion back into the joints of the musculoskeletal system, such as in the low back, hips, and knees. And, of course exercise and physical activity is a lot easier, and more beneficial for the body, when the spine is in alignment and the joints have good motion. Not only will exercise help with weight reduction, but it can actually slow the pace of degenerative changes as we age.
Healthcare professionals, like your chiropractor, can talk to you about your diet and exercise choices. In addition to treating men and women suffering from back pain and joint inflammation, chiropractors can provide proficient suggestions on the particular lifestyle changes that can help an individual to stay healthier, more vigorous, and more active through the years. Arthritis and immobility due to aging don’t have to be inevitable. The structure of the human body is designed for an entire lifetime of pain-free movement.
So, if those extra pounds have been sneaking up on you, and they’ve turned into a surprising load of pain, as your San Diego chiropractor and someone who understands, I can help. Make an appointment today!