October is National Chiropractic Month! Have Your Spine Checked Yet?
This fall, chiropractors across the country will highlight ways you can feel your best every day, regardless of your age, occupation or fitness level, during National Chiropractic Health Month in October. This October will also mark the first official launch of World Spine Day in this decade and we hope that people around the world will join together to raise awareness around the prevention and effective management of spinal conditions.
2013 National Chiropractic Health Month
This year’s theme—“Get Vertical”—focuses on Joint Health and its importance to living a good life and that includes healthy aging.
It is a great time to spread the word about the benefits of getting active. Getting regular physical activity can benefit everyone at any age. And don’t tell yourself it’s too late. Because it’s not! All you have to do is Get Vertical as often as you can!
Our joints are critical to all movement and allow us to carry out normal activities of daily living. Some 150 million to 200 million cases of back pain send people to the doctor every year—and many of those are related to joint injuries. The bones that make up the joint allow movement, but it is the muscles that pull the bones that produce the movement.
The movements that you perform on a daily basis are critical to long-term joint health, as are proper nutrition, a healthy exercise regimen, and a healthy lifestyle. Moving a joint through its full range of motion serves several important purposes. Joints are not supplied directly with blood as are other organs within the body, but instead are nourished with synovial fluid that is forced into the joint cartilage through pressure resulting from body movement. The best way to protect our joints is to use them properly and often. So the saying, “Use it or lose it” definitely applies to joint function.
In honor of National Chiropractic Health Month, Caron Chiropractic Clinic offers these tips to help you get vertical:
The biggest health hazard you’re up against just might be a chair or couch or recliner, and all the time you spend sitting in it. The amount of time we are spending on our butts is resulting in physical aches – such as back pain, neck pain, headaches and a host of musculoskeletal disorders. Now we have sitting disease.
Get Up & Move For More Energy!
Too tired to get off the couch? Do it anyway. Exercising at a low or moderate intensity three times a week can help you beat fatigue by increasing your energy levels an average of 20%. Whether you’re leaping and bouncing in the early morning sun, whooshing down the local bike path, or simply taking a stroll in the fresh air, becoming a body in motion will boost your spirits and your energy levels.
Assume the Vertical
Just get off your behind! Spending the day on your rear also reeks havoc on your posture. If you consistently practice poor habits, it can lead to long term injury to your spine. Even the way you sit, stand, sleep and walk can all contribute to the health or injury of your spine. As we’ve discussed previously, an unhealthy spine can lead to many other health conditions.
It doesn’t have to be at a gym, or doing an activity that you don’t enjoy. If you resonate with the gym, that’s great. If not, there are many other ways to move. And you can choose an activity that suits your needs. For example, if you are overwhelmed with stress and anxiety, then maybe a yoga class would be a good choice for you.
The word exercise may have negative connotations for some people, but I am not talking about forcing yourself to torture yourself with activities that do not fulfill you.
You can even forget the word exercise! Dance around like a crazy person, throw a Frisbee to your dog Fido, go ahead and let yourself go! People have to get rid of the idea that if they’re not benching 1,000 pounds or living at the gym, they’re not going to get anywhere. That’s ridiculous. All physical activity or exercise count. Just do it regularly, and marvel at the energy you gain!
Find an activity that is enjoyable to you, start a new hobby, join a club, or do anything that gets you moving. Whatever it is that you desire, realize that moving your body is an integral part of having a healthy, fulfilling, and joyful life. You not only feel better, but you look better, too!
Minnesota Chiropractor
An evaluation by your Minnesota Chiropractor is helpful in order to avoid injuries. Injuries can occur if you start physical activity too quickly, with too much intensity, or for too long.
Your chiropractor can offer help by providing nutritional advice, exercise and healthy lifestyle recommendations and natural approaches to managing injuries, aches and pains and overall spinal health.