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Joint Health

Today’s blog post comes from the category of ‘Simplicity’. Sometimes I talk too much about what we need to do to take care of our physical health. But, from this chiropractor’s opinion comes a very simple approach to ensuring your joints stay healthy. Note: Joints = articulation between two bones (Spinal, pelvic, hip, knee, ankle, foot, toe, shoulder, elbow, wrist, hand, finger).

The following is a list of ways to ensure you have healthy joints:

  1. Ensure each joint moves well and often.

That’s it!

This short list prompts the following Q&A I had with myself, for the purposes of writing this blog:

Question:

Why do joints become arthritic if you maintain functionality and physical activity throughout your life?

Answer:

Joints become arthritic because we’re not using each and every one of them to their fullest capacity. Our movement patterns do not require each and every joint to move. Then, our movements and activities become routine. The result is a collection of joints – some that move to achieve our activities, and some that don’t. (Example: If you sit all day, the likelihood is that your lumbar spinal joints are not moving well or often; this leads to lumbar spine stiffness and eventually arthritis.) The net result is that the joints we keep moving end up compensating for the joints that have lost their movement. This is a genius human system because it keeps us moving; But, it hides the fact that many joints have lost their mobility. The result is chronic, stiff joints, and worn out ‘compensating’ joints. Both types of joints (stiff & compensating) get arthritic: One from under-use, the other from over-use.

Follow-Up Question:

So, how do we fix this problem?

Answer:

Go back to the first step: Ensure all your joints move well and often. How?

  1. Chiropractic care of your joints
  2. Corrective Exercises, like “Controlled Articular Rotations (CARs)” – a component of “Functional Range Conditioning (FRC)”. Ask me for details.
  3. Change your activity routine often. Do multiple exercises that challenge different aspects of the body. And, play! For your body and mind’s sake, PLAY!

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