Get to Know Your Joints to Control Pain
By Sara Butler
A joint is anywhere on your body where two (or more!) bones connect. As you can imagine, you have quite a few joints in your body, over 200 in fact, such as your knees, hips, elbows, and jaw. These joints allow you to move, flex and stay active. But when something goes wrong, joints can cause a lot of pain. The chiropractors at The Joint Chiropractic have a lot of experience in treating patients with joint pain. Here's what they want you to know about it as well as natural and effective ways you can treat it.
Get to Know Your Joints
Every joint in your body is made up of an elastic band of tissue called a ligament that keeps the joint together, a piece of flexible tissue called cartilage that keeps the bones from grinding together, cords of tissue referred to as tendons that connect the bones and muscles, and finally muscles that pull your tendons in order to move your joints.
All of these pieces of connective tissue must work together to help you perform even the smallest task such as turning, bending, twisting, and stretching.
Joint Disorders
Probably one of the most common joint disorders is arthritis, which can range from mild to severe, which can make using a joint painful or near impossible. A few factors that can contribute to the joint deterioration associated with arthritis include:
- Getting older
- Inflammation
- Reduced muscle mass
- Previous injuries
- Excess body weight that puts extra stress on the joint
To further complicate things, there are several different types of arthritis. The most common types are:
- Osteoarthritis - This is a degenerative joint disease that causes pain, often involving the hips, neck, lower back, knees, and hands
- Rheumatoid arthritis - This is an autoimmune disease that can impact the function of various joints all over the body, causing pain
What You Can Do
The most natural treatment for arthritis starts with you. Exercise to help you maintain a healthy weight is one way to keep your joints healthy. You can also enlist the help of the chiropractors at The Joint to help you keep your joints from experiencing restriction and dysfunction that can make symptoms of arthritis worse. Also, eat a diet rich in anti-inflammatory foods as well as antioxidants to help your joints to stay healthy.
If you have questions or concerns about how to keep your joints healthy and free from pain, then discuss it with the chiropractors at The Joint today!
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Los Angeles, Calif.