Improving Joint Health at Home
Our joint health is vital to our overall health. Our joints bear the burden of changing lifestyles — from our work schedules to normal wear and tear. Dr. Justin Lewis and our team at Get Adjusted Chiropractic want to make living a healthy, well-adjusted life simple. A regular schedule of adjustments and appointments at Get Adjusted Chiropractic, in addition to daily exercise, are key components of overall health.
Dr. Justin Lewis outlines specific and easy ways to target joint health right from your home!
Joint Health Tips for At-Home Care
Learning to incorporate chiropractic care into your everyday life at home is essential to maintaining good joint health. Adjustments done by your chiropractor are crucial to this type of care, but that doesn't mean the benefits stop at the end of your appointment! "Everyone should start their day with a moderate level 10 to 15-minute stretch routine to help warm up their bodies for their day," Dr. Justin Lewis explains. "Especially if you will be sitting at your desk for prolonged periods, this will make a significant impact on your ability to maintain proper posture and soothe joint pain."
Getting up throughout the day, especially if you have a desk job behind a computer, can be a great way to take a break and clear your mind — in addition to helping your joints.
"If you are working from home, you should try to get up at least once per hour. This is the perfect opportunity to continue that light stretching for two minutes to allow proper blood flow throughout the body," states Dr. Justin Lewis. Some examples of stretches you can incorporate to help your joint health include hamstring stretches, figure-4 stretches, and calf stretches. Doing these stretches throughout the day will help restore proper blood flow throughout the body while keeping you loose and mobile.
Chiropractic Care for Joint Health
Our team at Get Adjusted Chiropractic works with our patients to ensure they receive the proper level of chiropractic care needed. Dr. Justin Lewis will assess your overall needs to understand your joint pain to promote strong joint health. "On either end of a muscle lives the muscle tendons, and the muscle tendons attach to bone," details Dr. Justin Lewis. "The tighter the muscle is, the more the muscle-tendon will pull on a joint and 'restrict' the joint's mobility. The less stretching a person does, the more likely that their joints will be stiff and achy. We want to work together to stretch the muscles to relieve pressure from the joints."
By regularly seeking chiropractic care, you can build a treatment plan and get to the root of the problem. Our team at Get Adjusted Chiropractic will work with you to make sure you are on your way to a pain-free life. "Each person is unique. Everyone with a spine should get checked by a chiropractor, and each person should have a specific treatment plan," says Dr. Justin Lewis. "For someone with joint-related pain, we'd stretch the big muscles throughout the body and perform chiropractic adjustments to improve joint mobility. We can also use electrical muscle stimulation on tight muscles to reduce inflammation and decrease muscle stiffness, which will take the pressure off of the joints."
Lifestyle Changes for Joint Health
Daily exercise is excellent for overall health; however, repeated trauma to the joints, and overdoing physical activity can increase joint pain. To avoid any pain flare-ups while still staying active, Dr. Justin Lewis recommends avoiding long-distance running and exercises that require deep bending. Keeping track of your diet and nutrition can also be a big help towards joint pain relief. As our bodies adapt where we are less active, it is customary to gain weight. Excessive weight gain can put pressure on our joints. It's important to know what is normal for your body — work with your primary care doctor and chiropractor to understand what will work for your body and lifestyle.
Dr. Justin Lewis also stresses the importance of hydration to help with joint health: "Proper water hydration is key. Most people should be drinking half of their body weight in water per day. When you are thirsty, that is the first sign of dehydration — so act fast!"
Prevent long term pain with Get Adjusted Chiropractic! Book an appointment online today or call our office at 845-809-8300 to schedule a visit with Dr. Justin Lewis.
