Archive for arthritis

ARE YOU SHRINKING?

Posted in health and wellness, Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 16, 2014 by chiropracticdouglasville

Is it true that you lose your height as you age? Is this something that is unavoidable?

You can observe that many people start to shrink over time and although this is a common thing to happen, it is absolutely not normal.

     To fully understand why the height changes, we first need to understand how  a spine works. There are normal ranges for most systems in your body. There are normal ranges for blood pressure, body temperature and, indeed, the spine too has a normal range. A normal spine is straight from the front and from the side there are three curves. These banana shaped curves are in the neck, mid-back and low back. The whole spine is made up of 24 individual bones (vertebra). In between each bone is a cartilage pad called a vertebral disc. When the spine is within the normal range it has the average height of 71 cm.

    There are many different types of stresses that cause a person’s spine to go out of the normal range. A few of these include the birth process, fall, traumas, accidents, and job hazards including, but not limited to, sitting for long periods in front of a computer, driving for long periods, manual labor, etc.

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The people with a shrinking spine and structural abnormalities will experience many secondary conditions such as neck and back pain, disc bulges, radiculopathy,headaches, arm or leg pain, muscle spasm…. People with these issues are at a greater risk of experiencing height loss.

Although most traditional doctors have focused on treating the secondary conditions, a Structural Chiropractor’s first concern is to examine if the issues are coming from a structural abnormality. This is done by a thorough examination that includes Digital Structural Radiographs,  Bilateral Digital Weight distribution analysis, Functional movement analysis and a Neurological exam. The examination determines if the person’s has structural abnormalities and,  if so, recommends a structural corrective care plan to stop the shrinking process

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Don’t Let ARTHRITIS Slow You Down!

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 9, 2014 by chiropracticdouglasville

Arthritis is one of the most common disorders seen in today’s society and can decrease quality of life and function. Some arthritis is a result of old age, while others result from an improperly functioning nervous and immune system. If left uncorrected, arthritis can cause increasingly painful and debilitating movement as the disease progresses. Although there are many great natural or pharmaceutical options to treat the symptoms brought on by arthritis, improving the structure of the body can actually get to the underlying cause.

Arthritis can be broken down into two basic categories: inflammatory and degenerative. Inflammatory arthritis includes Rheumatoid Arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, Lupus, and others. These conditions are caused by an autoimmune reaction in the body that causes inflammation in joints of the hands and feet and may eventually spread to the knees, hips and neck. Degenerative arthritis, on the other hand, is abnormal gradual wearing down of the cartilage within the joint usually from structural abnormalities and repetitive trauma such as work related activity, sports, or from major trauma such as falls and auto accidents. Degenerative arthritis usually affects the large weight bearing joints such as the spine, knees, hips, and ankles but, can also affect smaller joints as well. Degenerative arthritis also produces inflammation but because of wear and tear.

 What are your treatment options?

Traditional doctors have been successful prescribing medicine to treat the symptoms of arthritis and control pain. Although traditional treatment is not correcting the underlying cause of arthritis, it does ease the suffering for a short period of time. As the arthritis progressively gets

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severe enough, surgery may be warranted.

A structural chiropractor, on the other hand, will use safe, effective, and non-invasive methods to manage arthritis. Structural chiropractors are trained to identify and correct primary conditions such as structural abnormalities within the spine that cause secondary conditions like arthritis. A properly functioning spine and nervous system will increase mobility within the joints, decrease the stress placed on them, and restore function to the nervous system.  A properly functioning nervous system has been shown to increase immune system function, which can aid in inflammatory arthritis. In inflammatory arthritis, the body is actually fighting itself because of poor communication between the cells. Since the nervous system is responsible for communication between all the cells of the body, it is it is important to maintain a healthy spine to ensure optimal immunity.

Structural chiropractors can also help degenerative arthritis as well. Degenerative arthritis causes a painful lack of motion in the affected joints, as well as inflammation and neurological interference. The spine is commonly affected by degenerative arthritis and can cause dysfunction within the nerves coming from the spinal cord, itself. A structural chiropractor can help by increasing mobility within these joints and at the same time restoring function to the nervous system so that the rest of the body can function at an optimal level.

 

 

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