A Dose of Health

I know this is a blog about health, so I thought I should come clean. I, Felicia, am a crack addict. I must get my “crack on” at least once a week or else I’m no good to the world.

The crack I’m talking about is my chiropractic adjustment. There’s nothing like the sound of a good crack, the release of muscle tension and the ability to touch my toes again. Sometimes it’s all about touching my toes and other times its about being able to look at objects placed to the right of my shoulder and other times I get my crack on because it’s the right thing to do for my body.

Chiropractic visits are like brushing my teeth. I’m not too pleasant to be around if I don’t do both of those things regularly.

The Crack Controversy

People who are either new to the idea of chiropractology (there’s really no such word as chiropractology, but it sounds nice) or folks who are cynical say things like, “They (the chiropractors) are just after your money. They keep making you come back even when you’re feeling better.” Or, “Don’t go to a chiropractor, you’ll be going forever and never get better.” Or, better yet, “I can do it myself. Watch…” followed by the person turning their head from side to side in such a way to invoke the sound of popping Jiffy Pop popcorn (for the young folks, that’s how we made popcorn before the microwave).

Here’s My Chiropractic Story (and Theory)

After the birth of my second child, I experienced tingling and numbness down my right leg. My hip felt like it wanted to live three states away from the rest of my body. My hubby (wise man that he is), recommended that I see a chiropractor instead of going to the family physician.

From past experience, I found the family physician (who we affectionately call Dr. Prescription) would listen to my ailments with his prescription pad in hand. He would dutifully nod his head, hand me a few prescriptions and send me on my merry way. The prescriptions, muscle relaxants and pain relievers, were great if I wanted relaxed muscles and masked pain, but what I really wanted was to get rid of the source of the pain.

It’s kind of like having old broccoli in the trash and forgetting to take the trash out during a heat wave. I could spray all types of sweet smelling aerosols to mask the smell, but nothing will get rid of the stench until someone takes the trash out.

Finding the Source of the Problem

My chiropractor not only found the source of my problems, but my problems didn’t happen overnight. Many years of living has its way of moving bones around in such a fashion to accommodate the lifestyle of the day. If the lifestyle is pregnancy, the spine adjusts itself to accommodate it. When the lifestyle changes from pregnancy to carrying the bundle of joy on one hip while cooking meals and doing household chores, the spine, hips, shoulders all adjust to accommodate walking around with a bundle of joy on the hip.

Once a mom always a mom, after placing the baby on the ground to walk, mom has to carry a duffel bag (which doubles as a pocketbook) on the preferred shoulder. Usually the duffle bag is thrown on the shoulder of the same side that used to carry the child on the hip while cooking and doing household chores, further forcing the hip, back and shoulder to accommodate the current lifestyle. See a pattern?

Life Before and After Children

There were similar patterns before having children (you remember those dreaded school back packs) and even more spine altering patterns after having children. When you walk your dog on a leash, which arm does he pull most? Do you switch up or is Fido always on your right?

Pop a Pill and Call Me in the Morning

This type of wear and tear on the skeletal structure isn’t going to be resolved by a couple of pills. Pills can hide the pain, but it won’t get to the source of the problem. That’s why I became a crack addict. Initially I had to take a large dose of my chiropractic crack in an attempt to undo the poor skeletal alignment that resulted from years of living. One adjustment a week wasn’t enough to fix years of abuse.

After getting back on track, the number of weekly visits diminished. Now, I go once a week and I look forward to getting my crack on. I think of my adjustments as part of my maintenance routine. It fits right in there with brushing my teeth, drinking water, getting exercise, eating dark chocolate and getting my crack on.

There are more benefits to getting properly adjusted, but I’ll save that for another post.

That’s a loaded question and I don’t have the answer.  All I have are theories.  Indulge me for a moment and explore the inner workings of my brain (it ain’t pretty so be prepared).

The Problem

We have already established in an earlier post that osteoarthritis is the degeneration of cartilage in the joints caused either by trauma or wear and tear.  As I mentioned earlier, I believe that regular chiropractic adjustments might slow down or prevent the onslaught of osteoarthritis.  I say this because I believe regular adjustments keeps everything lined up properly so the joints operate in a normal range of motion thus reducing abnormal rubbing and degeneration of the cartilage (assuming that the cartilage is not breaking down as a result of a chemical or genetic defect).

The Animals are Out of the Barn

My theory for how to prevent osteoarthritis may or may not be valid, but that doesn’t help anyone who is currently suffering with the condition.  After all the animals are out of the barn, why close the barn door?  Time to figure out how to fix the problem.

Repair the Underlying Condition

Ahh, but this is how my brain works.  If I were diagnosed with osteoarthritis, I would immediately go to my chiropractor to begin a program of regular chiropractic are to properly realign my body and keep it in proper alignment.   In the meanwhile I would eat, drink or pill pop any natural ingredient that purportedly helps to rebuild cartilage and reduce the pain of osteoarthritis.  I think it’s a one, two, three punch (repair, replenish and maintain)

Replenish with Food, Drink and Supplements

I’m a strong believer that the body is forgiving and can do much to repair itself, provided we give it the right nutritional building blocks.  In addition to a transition from eating salt, sugars, processed foods, trans fats , high fructose corn syrup (the list can go on ad nauseum), I would begin eating whole grains, plenty of fruits, veggies, lean meats, Omega 3’s etc.  There’s no need for me to list which foods are healthy and which are not.  If you’re old enough to read this, you know what you should do.

As far as drinking, I would drink plenty of water (1/2 my body weight in oucnes) and begin a fruits and veggie juicing regimen of at least two to three times a day.  I’ve found that juicing heals a variety of ails.  Since the body is already in a state of discomfort (extreme discomfort depending on how advanced the osteoarthritis), I would step up my juicing to more than once a day.

On the supplement front, I’d pop glucosamine and chondroitin.  However, before popping glucosamine and chondroitin, quite a bit of homework needs to be done (dosage, manufacturer, system reaction, etc).  According to the information gathered from the Glucosamine/chondroitin Arthritis Intervention Trial (GAIT)  study glucosamine/chondroitin works better than over the counter NSAIDs for individuals with moderate to severe pain.  It was less effective for individuals with minor pain. The European study Glucosamine Unum In Die Efficacy (GUIDE) study, found similar results.

The key ingredients in glucosamine are found in sea creature shells.  Therefore, be careful about taking it with shell fish allergies.  There is a synthetic alternative (so much for natural treatment for osteoarthritis).

Shed Weight

The solution to so many ailments is to get rid of the excess weight; less weight and pressure on the osteoarthritic joint means less pain.  According to a Swedish study, excess weight contributes to knee and hip osteoarthritis in men (I’m sure women don’t get away scot free in this area).  Imagine, how happy osteoarthritic knees would feel if you shed an additional 40 pounds of unnecessary weight.  Purportedly for every pound you gain you put three pounds of pressure on your knees. That additional pressure can affect healthy knees, never mind knees plagued with osteoarthritis.

Exercise

According to the WebMD website, folks with osteoarthritis should engage in exercises such as swimming, walking and biking.  Depending on the level of pain and severity of degeneration, it may be tough to exercise, but it is recommended. Range of motion and limbering exercise are also important.

Consult with a Rheumatologist

Now that we took a walk through my mind, take a walk through your doctor’s mind.  Find a Rheumatologist as they’re the folks who specialize in treating arthritis.  Hopefully, you can find one who understands your desire for treating the condition as holistically as possible.

Unnecessary Disclaimer

You have just taken a stroll through my brain.  It is in no way meant to be construed as professional medical advice. It’s just the way I might approach the condition if I were diagnosed with osteoarthritis.

Just recently someone very close to me was diagnosed with an advanced case of osteoarthritis. For those of you who are not familiar with the condition, osteoarthritis is a degenerative condition that occurs in the joints. The cushioning cartilage in the affected joint erodes away thus causing the bones to eventually rest upon each other without the benefit of cartilage cushion.

Just thinking about the condition makes me cringe. Most commonly the condition affects the hips, knees or neck and is exacerbated by being overweight.

The Diagnosis

My loved one, I’ll call John, had been experiencing hip pain and stiffness. He attributed it to getting older (as we all attribute any new ache or pain). However over time, the pain got worse. The pain worsened to the point to where it would wake John up at night.

To deal with the annoyance of the pain John took over the counter pain medication such as Aleve, Motrin, Tylenol, or any of the available NSAIDS.

Now an added Wrinkle (not an age joke)

Introduce Steve. Steve is another person who is very near and dear to me. Steve was talking to John about the affects of aging and how he finally decided to go through the battery of tests folks our age should go through. You know what I’m talking about. There’s the physical, colonoscopy, EKG, blood test, heart stress test, etc.

John’s conversation with Steve inspired John to make an appointment with his doctor to have a physical. In addition to the need for a physical, John wanted to find out what was causing his reoccurring and persistent hip pain. He found out the reason: advanced osteoarthritis of both hips.

Here’s the Question

Steve and John are the same age (a few months apart); they’re both reasonably overweight (love you guys). So, here’s the question. Why did John, rather than Steve come down with this degenerative disease? I know there’s no one answer as to why people develop osteoarthritis.

The doctors have repeatedly asked John if he had suffered a sporting injury or was involved in an accident or anything that would contribute to his condition. Although it’s a ‘wear and tear’ disease, the advent of an injury or accident can also give rise to osteoarthritis. John assured the doctors that there was no such injury and no family history of osteoarthritis.

Here’s the second Question (or hypothesis)

If  Steve and John are both overweight middle aged men and Steve regularly received chiropractic care for most of his adult life and John didn’t, could John’s lack of regular chiropractic adjustments be a contributing factor to his osteoarthritic condition? After all, lack of chiropractic adjustments means that any skeletal mal alignment is left unchecked. Poor alignment can lead to an abnormal range of joint motion. That abnormal motion over a long period of time can lead to abnormal wear and tear of the cartilage. See where I’m going with this?

The Beauty of the Internet

After rolling this around in my head for a bit, I did a little internet research to see if anyone agreed with my theory. I happened upon an article by Dr. Daryl Robert Bourke, DC ND. Dr. Bourke has the credentials and ability to articulate my theory much better than I. Take a moment to read it his Osteoarthritis and Treatments article.

My Conclusion

Since  achieving and maintaining health is all about the day to day choices one makes, I choose to continue my regular chiropractic care.  And, until my children are of age to make their own choices, I choose regular chiropractic care for them too.