Archive for the ‘arthritis’ Category
San Jose Chiropractor Reveals Treatment Alternatives for Those Suffering From Arthritis
April 18th, 2010 | 
Author: There is an array of treatment options from which you can choose when it comes to your back pain and pain in other parts of your body due to arthritic changes, including going to see a San Jose chiropractor. However, quite a few people who are experiencing painful arthritis and back pain still think that they ought to go to a medical doctor in order to find a cure for their problem. But, you might be surprised to know that not many medical doctors are adept in helping individuals reduce the problem of back pain due to arthritis. Medical doctors are trained to treat symptoms through medication, rather than finding and treating the origin of the pain you are undergoing. And, while certain medications may ease the symptoms of arthritis, there is plenty more that you can do not simply for pain relief, but to truly slow down arthritic changes in your body.
One of the things that you can do to help your arthritis and back pain is to go to see a San Jose chiropractor. Chiropractors are doctors who practice entirely in treating the muscular and skeletal system, and arthritis is a joint condition. Chiropractic care has assisted many people in slowing the process of arthritis by getting their joints moving. Movement is vital for joint health. A good chiropractor is extremely skilled in treating back pain, even when it is caused by arthritis
You feel a bit concerned about what to expect if you’ve never been to a chiropractor before. Here’s what you can expect. You will be given the opportunity to discuss your medical history, which will probably include a family history of arthritis. The chiropractor will want to know about your current lifestyle and may offer explicit modifications that will be beneficial for decreasing the inflammation produced by arthritis. And, finally, you will receive a detailed examination. After the examination is complete, the chiropractor will let you know if chiropractic treatment can help your back pain, as well as relieve your painful arthritic symptoms. At the end of your visit!Then you will be told about the specific treatment you will require.
Chiropractic treatment relieves pain gently and naturally, and it is a painless process. And, the best part of going to a chiropractor for your back pain and arthritis is that you can feel assured that the cause of your pain is being addressed, and that the healing you experience is not covering up the symptom of pain, but genuinely taking care of the origin of your affliction.
Athletic Tape Isn’t Just For Sports Injuries!
As a chiropractor I treat many people who suffer from arthritis, and I also help individuals who have sustained sports injuries. With the former, I use chiropractic adjustments and with the latter, in conjunction with the adjustments, I often use kinesio taping. Now, it appears that athletic tape can also be beneficial in treating patients with arthritis. Read on…
Athletic Tape
Researchers in Australia have found that athletic tape can be used to improve pain from patellofemoral osteoarthritis, a form of osteoarthritis found around or behind the kneecap.
This was a small study, to be sure, involving only 28 people, 14 with and 14 without patellofemoral arthritis. Yet the findings may provide another therapy option for people with this knee pain. This finding may also benefit people with chronic patellofemoral pain, which is relatively common in runners and can oftentimes be related to a misalignment in the knee joint.
The researchers from the University of Melbourne enlisted the 28 participants, all adults with an average age of 57. The researchers took MRI scans of the participants knees and discovered that the arthritis sufferers had a higher incidence of misalignment of the knee joint, including an inclination for the kneecap to be positioned toward the outside of the leg.
Using athletic tape to wrap the patient’s knees, the researchers were able to improve that misalignment. This contributed to improvement in reported pain during a squatting exercise.
According to lead researcher, Dr. Kay M. Crossley;
“Our results confirm that patellar taping is an excellent technique which can be recommended for people with (patellofemoral arthritis).”
The tape must be applied correctly to achieve the benefit, and not to worsen the condition. The researchers indicated that a physical therapist would be the most appropriate to wrap the knee, but that with instruction and practice, the patient would be able to successfully tape their own knee.
Using tape may not be the best solution for everyone with patellofemoral pain. Many people may require other forms of therapy or a combination with taping. Dr. Crossley stated that she and her colleagues are currently conducting a clinical trial which is studying the outcomes of knee taping with other treatments.
The results of the taping study were published in the journal Arthritis Care & Research.
Santa Clara Chiropractor: Growing Older Doesn't Have to Hurt
If you’re over forty years old you know that as we age our body doesn’t feel or respond the same way as it did when we were younger. It just doesn’t seem right that our body seems to become less “cooperative,” while our mind appears to improve and become more “inventive.” We’re stiff when we get out of bed; many of the activities we do during the day make us sore in the evening; and, if we’re not truly careful, even something as simple as turning too hastily or bending over to pick up a dropped pencil, can send our back or some other muscle group into spasm. But, our body doesn’t need to go from bad to worse because there are specialized techniques accessible that can not only slow down the aging process of the body, but help us to avoid some of those problems altogether.
For an example, arthritis. Most of us would agree that, with the exception of pharmaceuticals, conventional medicine does little to attend to this age-related challenge. What is the basis for such a limited approach? It is because most medical doctors treat the symptoms of arthritis. Chiropractic management, on the other hand, not only helps to relieve the pain of arthritis, naturally, without drugs, but it addresses the origin of the condition and corrects it. For more than a hundred years, chiropractors, like your Santa Clara Chiropractor, have been helping individuals suffering from back pain and other challenges created by arthritic changes in the musculoskeletal system.
Arthritic changes occur as your body ages because, over time, degeneration of certain joints takes place due to repetitive stresses, as well as years of incorrect gait, improper posture, and insufficient movement. Chiropractic treatment restores motion back into your joints and decreases pain, and it readjusts any vertebral misalignment that may be causing 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 true, and this may be one of the reasons why it may seem to you that as you get older you experience more health problems and that it frequently takes longer for you to feel better again. Studies have shown that older individuals who are under chiropractic care stay healthier. To put it another way, as you get older, chiropractic adjustments are good for what ails you!
When it comes to the health of the musculoskeletal system, chiropractors are experts whether it’s the small, growing frame of an infant or the full-grown body of a mature adult. Your chiropractor is experienced in working with the aging process of the body and has exceptional observational and diagnostic skills that help in detecting spinal misalignments and joint problems. In fact, a chiropractic examination can often reveal certain age-related conditions before they’ve had a chance to create noticeable pain. Moreover, your Santa Clara Chiropractor can evaluate your posture and analyze your gait to identify faulty patterns that could generate more arthritic changes in the future.
So, if feeling your age has become a painful experience, call your Santa Clara Chiropractor today!
Chiropractic Internet Marketing: Free Course!
Dr. Jamie Phillips and the ChiropracticMasters Team, have just put together an outstanding free Chiropractic internet marketing course that is designed to help chiropractors or any doctors, dentists or professionals for that matter, get a handle on how to market their practices these changing times. The course is called the “Ten Essentials of Internet Marketing” You can find it at www.chiropracticmasters.com.
The Best Chiropractors Say, A Healthy Diet and Moderate Exercise Can Relieve Arthritis Suffering
Are you suffering from back pain due to arthritis? Do you also have a challenge with your weight? If so, it’s conceivable that you’re having back pain not only as the result of arthritis, but also because of the burden your weight is putting on your spine. The body was not intended to carry around additional weight in the form of body fat. Your spine, which supports your body, is being put under a great deal of strain even if you are only carrying a surplus 20 or 30 pounds all the time. This kind of stress can cause irregularities of the vertebral column. These misaligned vertebra can produce arthritic changes in the spine and persist in aggravating the degenerative changes that have begun. Furthermore, your body may compensate in other ways, like your hips moving forward or tilting to support the excess poundage. This can pinch the sciatic nerve, which is extremely painful.
A current survey by the NPD Group, a leading market research firm based in Rosemont, Ill., reveals that approximately 62% of men and women and 34% of adolescents are overweight or obese. The pervasiveness of arthritis amplifies with accumulating weight. Research implies that cultivating a healthy weight lessens the risk of developing arthritis in the first place and may slow degenerative progression. A reduction of just 11 pounds can decrease the occurrence (incidence) of new knee osteoarthritis and would do a great deal to relieve back pain as well.
A healthy diet and routine exercise is definitely necessary for a person who wants to overcome their back pain, knee pain, and joint pain in other places in the body. Although this counsel presumably doesn’t seem like anything new, it truly is the only action for you to take in order to get out of pain and regain your life.
First of all, let’s tackle the issue of dieting. Most diets (and there are plenty to choose from) can be temporarily effective. Obviously, if you were to lose weight for keeps, the diet industry would lose a life-long customer! Eating a life-enriching diet (as a lifestyle choice and not just a temporary fix) and decreasing your calories so that you are using more calories than you are taking in is the only method of losing weight in a healthy, permanent manner. Don’t try to lose 20 pounds every week because that is a limited and dangerous fix. Losing about 2 pounds every week will help you to lose the weight permanently and healthfully.
Research has shown that exercise and physical activity not only reduces pain and improves function, but truly delays disability. It is important for you to get a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate physical activity a minimum of 3 days a week. You can get activity in 10-minute intervals.
Chiropractic manipulation is a proved way to get movement back in the joints of your spine and other places in, and can be a smart first step before you begin an exercise program. A well-aligned spine makes exercise and physical activity a good deal easier and will slow 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% responded to the survey by stating that they were utilizing some kind of “complementary care” as named by the study. Of those people, 31% were utilizing chiropractic. Likely the most consequential statistic was that 73% of those utilizing chiropractic found it helpful. Answering why they’d tried the non-medical chiropractic care, those surveyed gave a number of reasons: 1) to reduce pain, 2) they’d been told that it helps, 3) they felt assured that it is safe, 4) it had assisted someone they knew, and 5) because their prescription medication wasn’t doing the job.
Chiropractors, also called doctors of chiropractic, have been aiding men and women suffering from back pain due to arthritis and other arthritic conditions for over a hundred years. Not only can arthritic pain and degenerative changes in the spine be produced by the misaligned vertebra that your chiropractor will adjust, if left unchanged misalignments can reduce resistance and immunity, which can create new health conditions.
It is always wise to visit a health care professional to discuss diet and exercise. If you want to find highly knowledgeable advice on the type of lifestyle changes that you will required to help you to manage your arthritis, your chiropractor will be very happy to help you. Furthermore, in addition to correcting any misalignments in your spine, your chiropractor will diagnose any faulty gait patterns or posture irregularities that may be adding to the pain you are experiencing.
Posted in arthritis | 
Tags: arthritis, chiropractic, chiropractor, chiropractors, loss, weight | 
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Can Chiropractic Care Help Arthritis?
Introduction
Arthritis is more often than not confusing to most people.When some people hear this word they contemplate a future with crippled and twisted joints. However “arthritis” is generic word that comprises many different conditions from the benign to the severe. For our purposes we will limit this discussion to the most common forms of arthritis.
Osteoarthritis and Chiropractic Care
The most common form of arthritis has many labels: osteoarthritis, degenerative arthritis, degenerative joint disease (DJD), and spondylosis if it is in the spine. Essentially, the condition is due to the wearing out of the cartilage that lines the joint surfaces, and it is found not only in humans, but also in all mammals. When joint cartilage is harmed, the sensitive bone tissue that is usually protected by the cartilage becomes stressed causing degenerative changes in the joint. Sometimes the bone around the joint will proliferate and make osteophytes, or what are more commonly called bone spurs. These spurs can cause painful irritation to other tissues adjacent to the joint, thus complicating the already distressing condition.
Degenerative joints principally occur in the lower neck and lower back, the knees, hips, and 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.
Pain and/or stiffness in the affected joints are primary indicators of DJD. As the condition continues there can be loss of mobility, particularly 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 intolerable due to severe pain.
Prevention is unquestionably the best option, beginning at an early age.
- Making sure that all injuries to joints are properly treated will help to avoid future problems.
- People involved in occupations that demand standing or walking should wear proper shoes that offer good support and shock absorption.
- Excess body weight can cause increased stress upon the weight bearing joints of the body.
- Care should be taken to protect knees from pain aad strain when kneeling on hard surfaces.
- The natural vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants included in fruits and vegetables are crucial for healthy joints and a healthy body.
Recent studies have shown that long-term use of the nutritional supplement, Glucosamine, can not only assist with DJD symptoms, but can possibly help to rebuild joint cartilage.
Chiropractic adjustments are not only a smart idea, 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 chiropractor has many of years of training in helping people with arthritis pain. In addition, chiropractic modalities such as joint mobilization, ultrasound, cold laser therapy, massage and electro-therapy may be used to aid in the treatment of painful and stiff joints. Occasionally, a brace is necessary 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 increased level of uric acid in the blood and the deposition of uric acid crystals in the joints cause gouty arthritis. The most common joints are the big toes, the knees, ankles and wrists, and is often characterized by excruciating pain and swelling. A large number of people who develop gout are predisposed through heredity, though episodes are generally brought on by binge eating of inflammatory foods, when dehydrated or fasting, or after a major surgery or illness. Foods that must be avoided contain a natural substance called Purines that are metabolized in the liver to form uric acid. Individuals with this condition cannot effectively metabolize uric acid, thus the accumulation in the bloodstream and the subsequent joint problems. The foods most connected 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 avoiding alcohol.
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disease of systemic origin. The direct cause is not known, but it is thought to be associated with a problem with the immune system. The most common joints affected are the small joints of the hands and fingers, the feet, knees, and shoulder, although other areas of the body can be affected as well. The condition is generally associated with morning stiffness that is aggravated by motion. Many times 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 specific blood tests. Though, currently, there is no cure, in addition to medication and vitamin and diet therapy, treatment should include chiropractic manipulations to mobilize joints and help to relieve the pain and stiffness associated with this disease. Additional modalities such as ultrasound, heat, electro-therapy, and massage may also be valuable. Your Chicago chiropractor is dedicated to assisting individuals in getting relief from the pain and suffering associated with arthritis.