The Importance of Movement!

If there is one common thread between all chronic, long-term pain conditions it is a lack of movement. Over our lifetimes, we begin to lose the fluid nature of our joints due to gravity, stress, injuries, and honestly just the wear and tear of everyday life. While we lose mobility over decades, we have some influence on how much we lose.

I see patients from all ages; as young as a couple days old to in their late 90’s. In the older population, it is easy to tell who has been staying active throughout their lives. It doesn’t have to be a crazy activity like running marathons or bench pressing plates of weights, but rather performing moderate activity within a pain-free zone. The ones who haven’t been active are the ones who have trouble with stairs, getting up and down from sitting, and comfortably performing daily tasks.

Ask yourself: which group would you prefer to be in? As a chiropractor, I am invested in helping patients maintain good health rather than try to fix a problem. Once someone is dealing with chronic pain, they’ve likely had the issues for years and years before they felt their first pain. That isn’t something that can be perfectly reversed. I’d prefer to keep spines and joints healthy before problems manifest.

Here are a couple tips to get moving:

1. Start easy. The goal is mobility and motion. In fact, walking is one of the best exercises there is. Aim to reach 30 minutes each day of walking at a moderate pace. That amount of time has also been scientifically shown to help with heart conditions on top of being good for your joints. If you work at an office setting, maybe make walking a part of your lunch routine or something you can organize before work. Sitting at a computer for long hours produces a ton of stress on the joints, and any movement will be beneficial.
2. Incorporate resistance training. This is probably the most important tip. Walking and moving is great, but applying resistance to the body is where we build longevity. Our bodies lose strength as we age, affecting movement, stability, and overall health. Exercise bands, bodyweight exercises, and cable machines are great ways to add weight training without overdoing it. Make the goal adding resistance through a variety of motions, and going as deep into the motions as comfortable. If you are squatting, try to go as low as you can with comfort and stability, as an example.
3. Spinal issues and pain. When we age, it isn’t just losing range of motion in our shoulders, hips, and knees. Our spine is vital to longevity and strength. Each vertebra moves in about 14 different directions, with over 300,000 nerve fibers. That’s a lot of opportunity for pain–back pain alone is the number one disabler in the world. The great news is the majority of back pain is purely mechanical, meaning it can be addressed. Chiropractors are perfect for treating back pain.

We all need to be moving more, especially as we age. There is no time to start moving like the present! At our Overland Park chiropractic office, we help patients get active and moving again. Some of our favorite stories are helping patients, no matter their age, get back to playing their favorite sports again or getting active in things they thought they would never do. We’ve helped grandparents take their grandkids camping, get people back biking the trails, and even helping past martial artists get back in the dojo. Get your body moving, and reach out to a local chiropractor if pain is preventing you from being your healthiest!