Joint health

Approximately 30 million doctor visits a year are due to knee and shoulder injuries. Add another 150 million cases a year for back pain. Many of these visits are related to joint injuries.

Most of the injuries to joints occur because abnormal stresses are placed on a normal joint. There are three basic causes of joint damage: mechanical, chemical, and mental. All three of these causes are equally important, but let’s focus on the mechanical joint injuries for this discussion. Mechanical injury can come in the form of macro trauma such as a car crash, sprained ankle, or bad fall or micro trauma (repetitive use injury) such as poor posture and poor joint position while performing tasks repeatedly.

Moving a joint through its full range of motion is critical because joints are not supplied directly with blood as are other organs within the body. Most joints in the body are lined with cartilage. Cartilage within a joint is nourished by synovial fluid, which is forced into the joint cartilage only when joint movement happens. Without healthy joint cartilage, bone grinds on bone and leads to degenerative joint disease, tearing up the bones and creating cysts, bone spurs, and excess bone production.

Three basic principles should be considered to minimize the mechanical impact on the joints:

1. When lifting, be sure that the largest muscles in the area perform the task. This will ensure that you put less stress on the smaller, more vulnerable muscles and the joint.

2. During activity, you should be able to comfortably assume several different postures to avoid staying in one position for extended periods. When muscles fatigue, joints are more likely to be injured.

3. When performing tasks, keep the joints in their neutral posture or about halfway into the range of motion. Avoid working with your joints at the extremes of their range for prolonged periods.

Chiropractors correct the underlying cause of joint dysfunction so that the body can restore normal ranges of motion in the region that allows for the compensatory soft tissue reactions to heal. It is through this manner that chiropractors are best suited to deal with joint pain and dysfunction.

As always, proper nutrition, exercise, stress management, and a healthy lifestyle are also essential to long-term joint health.

For more information, contact Wendy at haydenhealth@gmail.com.