Poor posture can have serious effects on your health. Not only is poor posture bad for your body and your mentality in general, but prolonged periods of poor posture can increase your chances of developing serious chronic conditions like back pain, headaches, and arthritis.
Poor posture seriously increases the pressure on your spine and can speed up osteoarthritis. Dr. Erik Dalton published an article detailing the spinal risks of poor posture. It was noted that, while an average person’s head weighs about twelve pounds, for every inch the head is thrust forward from the shoulders, an extra ten pounds of pressure is added to the lower back. In severe slouching, where the head is extended forward just three inches, 42 pounds of pressure are added to the lower back. Not only is this uncomfortable and even painful, but it can also speed up osteoarthritis.
A 2009 study showed that poor posture, especially the forward head position, can significantly increase the speed of joint damage in the spine, leading to health concerns like degenerative joint disease and osteoarthritis.
Ways to Combat Osteoarthritis
Fortunately, it is completely possible to combat osteoarthritis. There are many treatments that are available to combat osteoarthritis, the most effective of which are diet and exercise and chiropractic, particularly chiropractors, like the highly trained Chiropractors at the Crows Nest and North Sydney Health centers.
Healthy food and Osteoarthritis
Choosing healthy foods if you suffer from osteoarthritis is crucial. Healthy foods, especially those that are low in calories and high in Omega-3’s, can prevent you from gaining weight, which can put more stress on your painful joints. Doctors specializing in the treatment of osteoarthritis recommend eating a healthy, well balanced diet to treat your osteoarthritis naturally. Omega-3 with their anti-inflammatory effects are very useful for this condition.
Exercise and Osteoarthritis
Exercise is also important while combatting osteoarthritis. Regular light exercise and regular light stretching keeps your joints strong and healthy, and can reduce the amount of pain that you experience, as well as slowing the damage to your joints. Exercises such as walking and swimming are great ways to combat osteoarthritis.
While your joint health may not improve, using diet and exercise to combat osteoarthritis can keep your joint pain and joint damage from worsening over time.
Chiropractic and Osteoarthritis
What’s missing from many sufferers of Osteoarthritis and degenerative joint disease is Postural Chiropractic. This type of chiro is not the traditional form but rather a specialized technique that requires post graduate study.
At the Crows Nest and North Sydney Spine and Health centres in Sydney, the Chiropractors are Posture experts!
Anyone with suspected Osteoarthritis is x-rayed (we can bulk bill these for you) so our chiropractors can see where the Osteoarthritis is and what level it is at. Based on this our chiropractors can devise a tailored treatment plan to slow down, halt or even in some cases reverse Osteoarthritis.
Book into our Crow’s Nest or North Sydney chiropractic centers or call us direct on 02 9460 8459 to speak to one of our Chiropractors.
