As we get older, wear and tear on the body tends to accumulate. Maybe that old injury isn’t healing as well as it used to. Or perhaps you’ve noticed a few more discomforts than you used to.
For many, however, the frustrating part isn’t the pain itself. It’s that it keeps returning. So, can chiropractic care help with joint pain? Here’s what you should know.
Why the Same Joint Keeps Flaring Up
Your joints are built to carry load. But they can start to complain when that load is heavier than they’re used to, or when it keeps occurring at a slightly awkward angle (such as with poor lifting techniques or posture).
For instance, maybe your knee only aches after a long walk, or your shoulder causes you pain when you reach up for something on a higher shelf. But it’s rarely the one movement that causes it. It’s the same movement, repeated for months and years.
Rest, ice, and pain relief may all help you find some relief. But they don’t always change what’s loading the joint in the first place. So when you go back to moving as you normally do, the joint may end up absorbing the same as before. And a few weeks later, you’re back where you started. So, what might be going on here?
How Your Posture Changes the Load on Your Joints
Your body is good at keeping you upright and your eyes level. When something changes, it adjusts elsewhere to keep you balanced. And these adjustments can change how your weight travels through you.
This tends to happen slowly, so most people never notice it. You just adapt. But the joints further along the chain may be the ones compensating or absorbing this load.
Here’s how it often shows up: Your knees may be affected by how your weight passes down through your hips and feet. Your hips can take uneven loading from a pelvis that sits tilted or rotated. A rounded upper back changes the angle of your shoulders. And your lower back often ends up caught between what’s happening above it and below it.
In other words, the sore joint isn’t always where the problem starts. Sometimes it’s simply where you feel it.
Where Chiropractic Care Fits In
At Posture & Wellness, we look at your whole body. We use Advanced Biostructural Correction™ (ABC™), which works on the principle that some bones shift in a direction the body can’t reverse on its own, leaving it to compensate elsewhere.
And if you’ve been diagnosed with osteoarthritis, chiropractic care works alongside what your GP has advised and any exercises you’ve been given. Chiropractic care is never a substitute for medical advice given to you by your GP.
Curious to learn more? Book your FREE discovery call with your local Finsbury Park chiropractor. BOOK NOW.