Spine joint dysfunction woes!

Joint dysfunction in the spine can produce pain, and mobilizing the spine joints through manipulations (also called adjustments) can decrease that pain.

http://www.spine-health.com/conditions/arthritis/more-osteoarthritis-treatments

Joint Dysfunction & Manipulation

Joint dysfunction in the spine can produce pain, and mobilizing the spine joints through manipulations (also called adjustments) can decrease that pain.

http://www.spine-health.com/conditions/arthritis/more-osteoarthritis-treatments

Is Osteoarthritis Causing Your Chronic Back Pain and Stiffness?

When pain and stiffness occur gradually and chronically in the back, osteoarthritis may be the cause.

http://www.arthritis-health.com/types/osteoarthritis/what-spinal-osteoarthritis-facet-joint-arthritis

Make Your Voice Heard: Help Veterans Receive the Care They Need

Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) have introduced the Chiropractic Care Available to All Veterans Act. The bill would require the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to phase-in the chiropractic benefit at all major VA medical facilities over several years. You, too, can help ensure the essential services provided by doctors of chiropractic are available to the brave men and women who have served our country by simply clicking the link below to urge your senators to cosponsor this bill!

To contact your senators, click http://cqrcengage.com/aca/app/write-a-letter?10&engagementId=78697

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Chiropractic News - Overweight Boys Higher Rsk of Knee Pain as Adults

Overweight boys may have higher risk of knee pain as adults
Excessive weight during childhood was linked to knee pain, stiffness and dysfunction among adult men, according to an Australian study in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. However, researchers found that overall childhood overweight measures were not significantly associated with knee problems. MedPage Today (free registration) (3/19)

A Healthy Weight for a Healthy Back

Experts agree that the best way to achieve and maintain a healthy weight level is through a balanced diet and exercise. For people with many types of back problems, regular exercise and, when necessary, weight loss, can help ease existing back problems and prevent future ones.

Obesity and Extra Weight Can Cause Low Back Pain

Along with other health issues that arise from having an unhealthy weight level, obese and overweight patients have an increased risk for back pain, joint pain and muscle strain¹. In particular, overweight patients are more likely to experience problems in their low back than patients at a healthy weight level.

This is especially true for people with extra weight around their midsection as the extra weight pulls the pelvis forward, strains the low back and creates low back pain.

In addition to muscle strain, spinal structures such as the discs can be negatively impacted by obesity. Patients with significant excess weight also may experience sciatica and low back pain from a herniated disc or from a pinched nerve if the discs have been damaged from compensating for the extra weight.²

Weight Loss Can Lower Risk for Other Back Problems

Managing weight through nutrition, diet and exercise not only reduces existing back pain, but can also help prevent certain types of back problems in the future.
For example, overweight and obese patients have an increased risk for osteoarthritis. The additional strain on the joints from the excess weight can cause arthritis in patients whose Body Mass Index (BMI) is too high. For patients who already have osteoarthritis, weight loss is one of the recommended treatments³.

• Read more in the Arthritis Health Center
  In addition, successful recovery from back surgery may also be affected by a patient’s weight because obese patients run a higher risk of complications and infections from surgery³. As a result, overweight or obese patients may consider weight loss before major surgery in order to improve their outcome as well as to avoid contributing to further back problems.
  
  For more information about how obesity affects back health and tips for weight loss, please see Weight Loss for Back Pain Relief.

  Exercise Helps With Weight Loss and Back Pain

  Maintaining a healthy weight usually helps patients to be more consistent with exercise. This is because overweight patients often have fatigue, difficulty breathing or shortness of breath as they exercise, which may cause them to avoid regular physical activity³.
  
  • See Exercise and Back Pain.
    
  As a general rule, many patients with back problems believe that they should avoid all exercise in an effort to protect their back from further injury or back pain. However, in reality, inactivity and lack of exercise can actually contribute to future pain and worsen existing problems.
  
  Patients are often unaware that movement through gentle exercise stimulates healing and a flow of nutrients within the spine. This is especially important for the discs in the spine. Physical activity causes the discs to swell with water and then squeeze it out, which exchanges nutrients between the discs and other spinal structures. When the patient does not engage in enough physical activity, the spinal discs are deprived of the nutrients they need to stay healthy and functional.
  
  • For further reading: Exercise and Fitness to Help Your Back.

  Developing a Safe Weight Loss, Diet and Exercise Program

  The key to a healthy diet and good nutrition is balance. Patients should consume adequate amounts of vitamins and nutrients but should avoid exceeding the daily intake recommendations for some.
  
  Consuming a balanced amount of recommended vitamins and nutrients is also important because certain nutrients and vitamins work in concert while others work against each other. A balanced diet should include a range of healthy foods and, if appropriate, nutritional supplements.
  
  
  Back Exercise
  Videos
  
  Because of the complexities of developing a healthy diet, exercise and weight loss program, patients should always consult a health professional before starting an exercise routine, changing their diet or taking nutritional supplements.
  
  The health professional should help the patient determine any potential limitations and guidelines to follow specific to his or her back problem. With attention to the nutritional content and quantities of food consumed, combined with gentle exercise to control weight, patients will enjoy better back health as well as improved overall health.
  
  References:
  
  1. American Obesity Association. “Health effects of obesity.” AOA Fact Sheets. 2002. http://www.obesity.org.
  2. Fishman L., Ardman C. Back Pain: How to Relieve Low Back Pain and Sciatica. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1997:248.
  3. American Obesity Association. “What is obesity?” AOA Fact Sheets. 2002. http://www.obesity.org.

Back ache in cool, damp weather

Does your back tend to get achy in the cooler, damper weather? That's not an old wives' tale. Most people with back problems, especially if they have spinal arthritis, generally do.

There is a reason for that. When the weather changes from a nice dry day to a wet day (especially if it's cooler too), the barometric pressure drops. Your joint capsule (the sac of fluid that bathes your joint) expands. It's like when a helium balloon climbs in the sky, it expands in response to less atmospheric pressure around it and eventually blows up.

So your joint capsule expands the same way. The sac itself has a lot of pain fibers in it. When it stretches, it fires off the pain fibers and you feel the pain as aching.