CHIROPRACTIC CARE AND WEIGHT LOSS:THE NEW APPROACH TO WEIGHT MANAGEMENT

INTRODUCTION

Everyone agrees that we have a problem in America with many of us being overweight. This growing weight problem is now being documented in almost ever developed country in the world. The experts say the causes of the problem are clear: we eat too many calories and we exercise too little. If the causes of the problem were so simple, we Americans and our fellow counterparts around the world would lick this problem in no time. What are the experts missing? This article answers that question and should open the doors for millions of people to begin to lose weight and maintain a lower, more ideal weight starting right away.

THE BASIC MISCONCEPTION ABOUT BEING OVERWEIGHT

The experts are right when they say one of the causes of our overweight problem is that we take in too many calories. Recently, over the strong opposition of restaurants, the City of New York has required certain restaurants to post the caloric content of its meals. Many of our products have labels with calorie levels, but how many of us really make our eating decisions based on the calorie content of what we eat. What the experts do not understand is that if you reduce your caloric intake, eventually, your body will reduce its metabolism (a measure of the rate of how your body burns calories) and you will achieve no weight loss at the reduced calorie intake. Therefore, while reducing calories is an essential component of a weight loss and weight management program, alone, it will not do the trick.

So, now we come to exercise. The experts are in agreement that more exercise leads to more calories being “burned up” by your body which will lead to will weight loss. Again, the experts are only half right. These experts simply do not address the critical question: “Why don’t people in America exercise more?” You have heard, and probably experienced one answer, “lack of time.” There is some truth in that answer. The other answer is that for many Americans their bodies are simply not up to rigorous, or even moderate exercise. If you try to exercise and your body is not up to it, it will be painful, make you feel even more tired, may lead to injury, will not be fun or rewarding in the short run, and you will stop all of your efforts to increase your exercise regimen. So, the key to losing weight lies in getting the body ready for and “up to” beginning and maintaining a moderate or rigorous exercise regimen.

THE ROLE OF CHIROPRACTIC CARE IN WEIGHT LOSS

A chiropractic evaluation focuses on reviewing how your body is operating. If your spinal cord is out of alignment, or pelvis, or you have other joint areas or muscle areas that are not working properly, exercise will be painful, will be more tiring and challenging that it should be, will be stressful to the body, and will potentially lead to injury that will prevent any exercise and reduce the quality of your life. Chiropractic care is designed to help get the body in a proper functioning state so that exercise can be brought into your daily life in a safe, enjoyable manner. Let’s face it. If exercise is not enjoyable, at some level, we will not do it and we cannot lose weight and maintain the weight we want to have.

Certainly, we need to set a goal for our weight and realistic timeframe for reaching this weight. For most Americans, with proper diet, with an initial chiropractic evaluation, with weekly, or for some, twice weekly chiropractic care and management, we can reach or come close to our weight goal in 120 days. Then, with monthly or more regular chiropractic monitoring and treatment for eight months, we can maintain the lower weight we have achieved, or even lose more weight as we approach the ideal weight for each of us.

More importantly, we will feel better. Our bodies will function better. We will have less pain and less fear of exercise. We will have less stress as we can become more demanding of our body, with less fear of injury.

HOW TO START

Every project must start with an evaluation of where you are, just as every trip starts with a recognition of your starting point and your goal. At the initial chiropractic evaluation, a good chiropractor can tell if you can start any exercise program and what that initial exercise program should be given your body’s ability to function. As chiropractic treatment begins to help the body function more properly, exercise suggested by your chiropractor can begin to increase. Before the end of the four month initial weight loss program, your body will be able to exercise more freely and more effectively, thereby burn more calories with less stress and pain, and contribute to even greater weight loss. Once this four month program is completed, the basis for good weight management will now be in place.

CONCLUSION

The experts tell us what to do, but not how to do it. They assume every body is ready to increase exercise and that assumption is wrong. While exercise programs say, “Before starting any exercise program, consult your doctor,” we believe the better strategy is “Before starting any exercise program, get an evaluation by a chiropractor and stay under the regular care of a chiropractor for at least 120 days while you ramp up your exercise program.

It is now time to take being overweight, even just five or ten pounds overweight, very seriously. If you have not been able to lose that weight over the past year or years, something might be very wrong with how your body, its joints and muscles are operating. If your joints and muscles cannot operate at a high level of functionality, exercise will not work for you. Chiropractic care is simply a great method of getting your joints and muscles to operate at a very high level of functionality. That is the key to weight loss and this article has presented a clear path for you to follow to achieve your weight loss goal and maintain it for the rest of your life.

The Benefits of Chiropractic Care

Introduction

Chiropractic care has grown substantially from its roots in America in Iowa to become a key part of the health care system in the United States. It has grown because it provides numerous key benefits for resolving pain, promotes a healthy life style, and makes people feel better and be more productive. This article is designed to inform people of the broad range of benefits they may obtain from chiropractic care.

Chiropractors follow the medical model used by all doctors. We collect precise information from the patient about the medical or physical issue of concern. We conduct tests. We record the results. We analyze the results and develop a diagnosis that focuses on the cause of the problem and how to solve it. We share the results and diagnosis with our patients. We recommend a course of treatment. We track meticulously how effective the treatment is. We change treatment if the problem is not getting resolved in a timely manner. We refer our patients to specialists if a more detailed diagnosis and treatment plan beyond what a chiropractor can do would benefit the client. Like all medical practices, chiropractors are problem solvers, and all great problem solvers must be able to make an accurate diagnosis of the problem. Rather than describe all of the problems chiropractors can treat, LifeSource Health Partners is committed to solutions and benefits for our patients. Therefore, this article lists the benefits chiropractors have provided for patients for over one hundred years.

The Benefits of Chiropractic Treatment

Of course, not every patient will receive these benefits or might even want them. Every patient is different and there are many contributing factors which will promote or hinder your receiving these benefits from chiropractic care. At LifeSource Health Partners we have documented that we have provided these benefits and we will continue to provide these benefits to our patients.

1. Improve fitness
2. Improve muscle tone
3. Increase strength
4. Improve balance
5. Increase agility
6. Increase flexibility
7. Reduce pain
8. Reduce likelihood of workplace accident
9. Reduce likelihood of injury
10. Improve posture
11. Improve appearance
12. Increase mobility
13. Increase range of motion
14. Reduce likelihood of acute pain
15. Reduce problems associated with repetitive motion
16. Increase awareness of surroundings
17. Increase sports and athletic performance
18. Increase functionality of body
19. Provide for greater ease of motion
20. Promote less wear and tear on joints
21. Increase alertness
22. Reduce muscle fatigue
23. Increase stamina and endurance
24. Provide for greater efficiency of movement
25. Improve nervous system functioning
26. Reduce onset of degenerative injury to back, spine, neck
27. Improve gait
28. Improve form and effectiveness of movement
29. Improve body mechanics
30. Speed up recovery from injury

Chiropractors will often recommend that a patient perform exercises, stretches and other “self-treatment” between visits. Performing all of the exercises, stretches, and “self-treatment” by the patient that the chiropractor recommends between visits to the chiropractor is so important that LifeSource Health Partners in 2009 has instituted a new and revolutionary policy for all of its patients. If LifeSource Health Partners does not call a patient or send them an email in between each visit to remind the patient of exactly what self-treatment the Doctor recommends, your next visit is free. And, if a patient refuses to follow the Doctor recommendations and is not progressing because of the failure of the patient to perform these exercises, stretches and self-treatment, LifeSource Health Partners reserves the right to discontinue its services to this patient.

Chiropractic Care and Seniors With Arthritis

For the purpose of this article, LifeSource Health Partners accepts the definition of “seniors” established by AARP as anyone who is fifty years or older; however, people of any age can be stricken with arthritis. The exact causes of arthritis are still not fully understood, but the symptoms are consistent and obvious. They include stiffness, pain restriction of motion, deformities of the hands and feet, decreased dexterity, back pain/stiffness upon awakening, impaired physical capabilities, pain with activity and progressive joint degeneration that can be silent or too easily ignored. Common physical impairments can prevent a person from doing normal activities such as opening a jar, writing, playing sports, typing, exercising and even enjoying their family, grandchildren or hobbies! Many people, especially seniors, seem to accept arthritis as a condition of life and simply “put up” with the inflammation, joint pain, stiffness, muscle aches and physical limitations because they don’t know there are other options. Chiropractic care is especially well-suited to not only reduce these symptoms, but also provide arthritis sufferers with long-term pain relief and improved functional capabilities of the hands, back, legs and other areas so you can enjoy your favorite activities.

Needs of Seniors With Arthritis
Seniors with arthritis need to reduce the inflammation and deterioration that affects their joints. Consequently, the initial goals of treatment are to not only relieve those symptoms and increase functional capabilities but more importantly to slow down the progression of the condition because arthritis is almost always a progressive condition, which means it gets worse with time-regardless of symptoms. Sadly, even as the inflammation and joint deterioration get worse, the symptoms usually fluctuate or even come and go completely, sometimes for many months or even years, only to return for no apparent reason! This is why seniors are especially susceptible to a false sense of improvement when the pain subsides and they start to believe the arthritis is getting better, only to experience a relapse of symptoms sometime later. Unfortunately, the underlying condition has been getting progressively worse the entire time resulting in permanent damage that limits the level of relief and recovery that can be achieved. Since arthritis will get worse if it is not treated, chiropractic care on a regular basis can help slow down or even stop the progression of arthritis and restore a senior’s ability to have pain-free use of their hands, back, legs and other joints.

Specific Services of Chiropractic Medicine To Treat Arthritis

Getting chiropractic treatment on a regular basis means seeing a chiropractic doctor for a short visit once a week, once every other week, or at least once a month. Specific chiropractic treatments that will provide measurable benefits to seniors with arthritis will depend, in part, on the type of arthritis a person has. Osteoarthritis most commonly affects the knees, hips, spine and other weight-bearing joints. Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory condition that typically affects the hands and feet resulting in destruction of the soft tissues and ligaments around the joints; this is what leads to the hallmark deformities characterized by rheumatoid arthritis. There are less common types of arthritis but almost all cause similar symptoms of joint inflammation, pain and stiffness.

For osteoarthritis, chiropractic medicine services that provide relief and reduce the progression of the condition include:

• Traction (the gentle stretching or elongation of a joint by a machine) to open the joint space, enhance tissue health and improve function.

• Joint mobilization (the movement of a joint in a prescribed manner) to increase joint function and restore pain-free movement.

• Prescription of specific stretches and exercises to be performed at home.

• Specific nutritional supplements to promote healthy cartilage.

For rheumatoid arthritis, there are other services provided by LifeSource Health Partners and many other wellness clinics that focus on the actual cause instead of just trying to relieve the symptoms and limitations associated with the condition. In addition to the chiropractic medicine services described above, the following treatments can effective in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis:

• Dietary assessment to determine if the food a person is eating contributes to joint and tissue inflammation.

• Food allergy assessment to identify specific foods that could be contributing to the cause of the condition.
• Acupuncture to restore normal balance and circulation of “chi” (vital body energy).
• Cleansing to eliminate toxins, enhance cellular function and restore biochemical balance; this also results in significant weight loss for most people.
• Specific supplements to restore adrenal function and promote tissue healing.
• Gentle manual therapies such as joint mobilization, stretching, exercise and strength training under the care of a licensed Chiropractor Doctor.

Benefits of Chiropractic Treatment for Arthritis in Seniors

Seniors should experience a progressive reduction in pain as well as a steady increase in strength, mobility, range of motion and the ability to perform many tasks that were difficult or impossible before treatment. Treatment often starts once or twice a week depending on the severity and length of time the senior has experienced the symptoms associated with arthritis. X-rays should be taken to help identify how long the arthritis has been present and the severity of any joint deterioration since the condition usually started long before any symptoms were noticed. The longer a senior has had arthritis and the worse the symptoms are, the more often treatment should be given and the longer it will take to achieve a favorable outcome. Over time, monthly visits are particularly useful to help minimize the progression of the disease and any residual symptoms. Since certain types of arthritis can compromise other functions of the body relating to the heart, lungs, blood flow, nervous system and the immune function, chiropractic evaluation and treatment of arthritis serves as an excellent way to reduce the possibility that arthritis will cause deformity of one’s joints or compromise these other important bodily functions.

Seniors, like everyone else, often deny their pain is worth being treated and live with unnecessary pain or “hope” it will go away. Even worse, they often take excessive amounts of over-the counter pain relievers or prescription arthritis medications that can damage the liver, kidney, stomach or other vital organs. Chiropractic medicine provides a drug-free treatment that can not only reduce the pain and suffering from arthritis but often slows down the progression of the condition! This results in better mobility, improved function and a substantial elevation in the quality of life for seniors with arthritis.