Q: I have daily joint pain with walking and would like to know if you have any suggestions that could help me to feel better and let my joints last longer.
A: The proper alignment of your spine, through which the nerves that control your body pass, is obviously important to a healthy lifestyle. But the proper function of the joints in other parts of your body is also important to your overall well-being and quality of life. Here are some practices that chiropractors recommend for protecting them:
- Maintain a healthy weight. Extra weight is a strain on all your joints, especially those in your lower spine, legs, ankles and feet, not to mention the strain obesity puts on your heart.
- When lifting something heavy, be careful. Use your legs, which have the strongest muscles in your body, to lift the weight, not just your arms and back.
- Make walking less stressful to the joints. Use a cart, for instance, instead of toting luggage or carrying groceries. They’ll take a lot of stress off muscles and joints. Use any device that makes walking easier, like a cane or walker when appropriate.
- Don’t skimp on the quality of your footwear. One of the best ways to protect the joints in your feet, ankles and knees is to wear supportive, well fitted shoes. Alignment here is important, get evaluated to see if you have significant imbalances in your gait that can be corrected by custom foot orthotics and arch support.
- Watch for repetitive use of your joints like certain movements with your shoulders or elbows. Activities like tennis or overuse of a computer can create problems that could be easily avoided.
- One of the best forms of exercise for your overall health—cardiovascular and musculoskeletal—is walking. Do it 3-5 times per week for 30-45 minutes.
- Get the right nutrients in your body to allow for joint repair. Flours, sugars, and salts will create inflammation and break down your joints. Get fresh food in your system and take supplements that promote repair. “you are what you eat” is as true a statement as any.
Talk with your general physician and your chiropractor for advice on practices that will maintain the function of your joints. If you have already lost function to the point that you have too much pain to exercise and need help, go through an appropriate regimen of therapy to get back on track and then maintain your body to make it last as long as possible.
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