| Imagine waking up one morning
with a frozen shoulder where you couldn’t move your
upper arm more than a few inches in any direction. How
much would that impact your ability to do your job? How
much would that affect your ability to drive your car or
even to dress yourself? How much would that affect your
ability to concentrate on anything other than your
shoulder? Obviously, if your shoulder did not move
correctly, it would have a dramatic impact on your life.
Well, the same is true with movement in every part of
your body. If things aren’t moving the way they are
supposed to move, it will have a negative impact on your
ability to function at work, take care of the demands of
everyday life, and even your ability to concentrate.
Many patients with severe low back
pain report that their pain came on suddenly when they
did something as simple as bend down to pet their cat,
put on their socks, or pick up the newspaper. Just about
everyone would agree that a person’s body should be able
to handle such simple movements. So what has happened?
In every one of these cases, the joints
of the patient’s body were “all locked up” -- they were
barely moving at all. When the joints in one area of the
body do not move the way they should, other areas of the
body are forced to move more in order to compensate.
This creates a significant stress on those areas that
have to pick up the slack, and it soon leads to pain and
inflammation. At the same time, the areas that don’t
have normal movement will slowly worsen as the muscles
continue to tighten, the joints stick together, and the
ligaments and tendons shorten. This leaves the body in a
very unstable condition; if left unchecked, this process
will continue until the body can hardly move at all.
That is how a person comes to suffer flare-ups of pain
at the slightest provocation.
Most of us have seen people who have
lost most of their normal mobility: they look like
bodies have been starched stiff whenever they try to
move around. This is especially prevalent among the
elderly. Contrary to popular belief, however, this is
not an inevitable effect of aging; rather it is the
inevitable effect of not maintaining the body’s mobility
through exercise, healthy alignment, and body mechanics.
There are people in their 60s, 70s, or even older, who
are stronger and more flexible than the average person
in their 30s, simply because they keep themselves
exercising.
Maintaining mobility is critical in
order to live free from pain and disability. Maintaining
good mobility is not difficult, but it does not happen
on its own. Just as in developing a good posture, it is
necessary that you perform specific exercises and
stretches to keep your muscles, ligaments, and tendons
flexible and healthy. In addition, it is necessary that
all of the joints in your body are kept moving correctly
as well. Although this can be achieved to a great degree
through stretching, most people also find routine
chiropractic adjustments to be very beneficial.
Call us at (215)340-9949 to receive
relief now. |