Experiencing pain is normal. Everyone experiences pain now and then.1 Pain is supposed to be protective to make you stop doing things that may be dangerous.2 But chronic pain that has persisted for more than 3 months is no longer protective, nor informative.3
So, what is chronic pain and what can you do about it if you suffer from it?
All pain is created by your brain because your brain has decided that you are threatened and in danger and need protecting.4-9 The interesting thing is that you don’t actually have to have any actual tissue damage to feel pain.10 And if your brain is not aware of tissue damage, you may not feel any pain at all, even if you’ve injured yourself.4 6
All pain is created by your brain because your brain has decided that you are threatened and in danger and need protecting.4-9 The interesting thing is that you don’t actually have to have any actual tissue damage to feel pain.10 And if your brain is not aware of tissue damage, you may not feel any pain at all, even if you’ve injured yourself.4 6
Sometimes pain persists long after tissue damage has actually healed.11 When pain persists for more than 3 months we call this chronic pain. Chronic pain is the second-most common reason people see a doctor and miss work.11 More than one-third of people with chronic pain become disabled by their pain to some degree.12 13
Your pain experience depends on why your brain has decided you need to be protected.
Chronic pain can be mild or excruciating, episodic or continuous, merely inconvenient or totally incapacitating. The pain can be from headaches, joint pain, neck pain, back pain or pain from an injury.
Other kinds of chronic pain include:
tendinitis
sinus pain
carpal tunnel syndrome
pain affecting specific parts of your body
The common thing with all these types of pain is that the actual feeling of pain is always, 100% of the time, created in your brain.5 8 14 15 This does not mean it’s not real – but understanding that the pain itself is created in your brain is really important for how you can get rid of it. And because pain depends so much on what you think and feel about the pain,2 it’s very important you understand pain properly.
Your pain experience depends on why your brain has decided you need to be protected – why it’s creating the feeling of pain for you in the first place.5 It can, therefore, be very useful for you to try to figure out why your brain may be creating pain for you. What was happening at or around the time your pain started. What makes it worse? What makes it better?
Why is that important? Because we know that the brain can be retrained,16 so you need to use all the tools available to you to retrain your brain to be out of pain.16 Some of the keys to retraining your brain are staying active,17-19 staying positive,20 eating well,21 22 and sleeping well.23
Stay Active
One important way that you can help yourself if you are in chronic pain is to stay active.17-19 Your posture and how you move plays an important role in how you feel and how you experience pain.18 19 Even as little as a short walk every day can help.19 If there are movements you cannot do because of your pain you can still help by imagining these movements.24
We know from neuroscience research that imagining a movement influences the brain in a very similar way to actually doing the movement.24 25 This can help retrain your brain to understand that the movement is not dangerous – because imagining doing the movement will not hurt. You can basically trick your brain into giving you back pain-free movement.24 Play with these sorts of things. Make movement fun. Move in different emotional states, like when you are happy or grateful. Move outside – in the sun, in a park with beautiful plants and flowers. Move in the water.
The movement of your spine is also very important.26 Yoga or simple spinal exercises can be great for this and chiropractic care may be really important to help you move too.27-29 The main focus of chiropractic care is to improve the movement and function of your spine.30-32 This is so important because proper movement of your spine helps your brain know more accurately what is going on, not only just in your spine, but also elsewhere in your body.33 34 And research tells us that chiropractic care can help people who suffer from back pain,38 39 and headaches.40 This is most likely because chiropractic care helps your brain know more accurately what is going on in your spine and body33 41 and may help your brain to switch off feelings of pain, when they are no longer needed. So if you suffer from chronic pain do your best to stay positive,20 move often,18 19 eat well,21 22 sleep well,23 and go see your family chiropractor to help retrain your brain to be out of pain.38 39
References
Katz WA. The needs of a patient in pain. The American journal of medicine 1998;105(1, Supplement 2):2S-7S.
Seymour B. Pain: A Precision Signal for Reinforcement Learning and Control. Neuron 2019;101(6):1029-41.
Holt K, Russell D, Cooperstein R, et al. Interexaminer reliability of a multidimensional battery of tests used to assess for vertebral subluxations. Chiropr J Aust 2018;46(1):101-17.
Fenton BW, Shih E, Zolton J. The neurobiology of pain perception in normal and persistent pain. Pain management 2015;5(4):297-317.
Koyama T, McHaffie JG, Laurienti PJ, et al. The subjective experience of pain: Where expectations become reality. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2005;102(36):12950-55.
Mitsi V, Zachariou V. Modulation of pain, nociception, and analgesia by the brain reward center. Neuroscience 2016;338:81-92.
Ploghaus A. Dissociating Pain from Its Anticipation in the Human Brain. Science 1999;284(5422):1979-81.
Wager TD. Placebo-Induced Changes in fMRI in the Anticipation and Experience of Pain. Science 2004;303(5661):1162-67.
Wiech K. Deconstructing the sensation of pain: The influence of cognitive processes on pain perception. Science 2016;354(6312):584-87.
Costigan M, Scholz J, Woolf CJ. Neuropathic Pain: A Maladaptive Response of the Nervous System to Damage. Annual Review of Neuroscience 2009;32(1):1-32.
St Sauver JL, Warner DO, Yawn BP, et al. Why patients visit their doctors: assessing the most prevalent conditions in a defined American population. Mayo Clinic proceedings 2013;88(1):56-67.
Webb R, Brammah T, Lunt M, et al. Prevalence and Predictors of Intense, Chronic, and Disabling Neck and Back Pain in the UK General Population. Spine 2003;28(11):1195- 202.
Mallen C, Peat G, Thomas E, et al. Severely disabling chronic pain in young adults: prevalence from a population-based postal survey in North Staffordshire. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2005;6(1):42.
Apkarian AV, Hashmi JA, Baliki MN. Pain and the brain: specificity and plasticity of the brain in clinical chronic pain. Pain 2011;152(3 Suppl):S49.
Atlas LY, Bolger N, Lindquist MA, et al. Brain Mediators of Predictive Cue Effects on Perceived Pain. 2010;30(39):12964-77.
deCharms RC, Maeda F, Glover GH, et al. Control over brain activation and pain learned by using real-time functional MRI. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2005;102(51):18626-31.
Geneen LJ, Moore RA, Clarke C, et al. Physical activity and exercise for chronic pain in adults: an overview of Cochrane Reviews. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2017;4:Cd011279.
Booth J, Moseley GL, Schiltenwolf M, et al. Exercise for chronic musculoskeletal pain: A biopsychosocial approach. Musculoskeletal care 2017;15(4):413-21.
O’Connor SR, Tully MA, Ryan B, et al. Walking exercise for chronic musculoskeletal pain: systematic review and meta-analysis. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2015;96(4):724-34.e3.
Schutze R, Rees C, Slater H, et al. ‘I call it stinkin’ thinkin’’: A qualitative analysis of metacognition in people with chronic low back pain and elevated catastrophizing. British journal of health psychology 2017;22(3):463-80.
Masino SA, Ruskin DN. Ketogenic diets and pain. Journal of child neurology 2013;28(8):993-1001.
Silva AR, Bernardo A, Costa J, et al. Dietary interventions in Fibromyalgia: a systematic review. Annals of medicine 2019:1-29.
Burgess HJ, Burns JW, Buvanendran A, et al. Associations Between Sleep Disturbance and Chronic Pain Intensity and Function: A Test of Direct and Indirect Pathways. The Clinical journal of pain 2019.
Bowering KJ, O’Connell NE, Tabor A, et al. The effects of graded motor imagery and its components on chronic pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The journal of pain : official journal of the American Pain Society 2013;14(1):3-13.
Mulder T. Motor imagery and action observation: cognitive tools for rehabilitation. Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996) 2007;114(10):1265-78.
Laird RA, Keating JL, Ussing K, et al. Does movement matter in people with back pain? Investigating ‘atypical’ lumbo-pelvic kinematics in people with and without back pain using wireless movement sensors. BMC Musculoskelet Disord 2019;20(1):28.
Eliks M, Zgorzalewicz-Stachowiak M, Zenczak-Praga K. Application of Pilates-based exercises in the treatment of chronic non-specific low back pain: state of the art. Postgraduate medical journal 2019;95(1119):41-45.
Li Y, Li S, Jiang J, et al. Effects of yoga on patients with chronic nonspecific neck pain: A PRISMA systematic review and meta-analysis. Medicine 2019;98(8):e14649.
Galindez-Ibarbengoetxea X, Setuain I, Andersen LL, et al. Effects of Cervical High-Velocity Low-Amplitude Techniques on Range of Motion, Strength Performance, and Cardiovascular Outcomes: A Review. J Altern Complement Med 2017;23(9):667-75.
Brown RA. Spinal Health: The Backbone of Chiropractic’s Identity. Journal of Chiropractic Humanities 2016;23(1):22-28.
Hart J. Analysis and Adjustment of Vertebral Subluxation as a Separate and Distinct Identity for the Chiropractic Profession: A Commentary. J Chiropr Humanit 2016;23(1):46-52.
The Rubicon Group. Definition and Position Statement on the Chiropractic Subluxation. [Online] Available at: http://www.therubicongroup.org/#/policies/: The Rubicon Group, 2017:4.
Haavik H, Murphy B. Subclinical neck pain and the effects of cervical manipulation on elbow joint position sense. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2011;34(2):88-97.
Korakakis V, Giakas G, Sideris V, et al. Repeated end range spinal movement while seated abolishes the proprioceptive deficit induced by prolonged flexed sitting posture. A study assessing the statistical and clinical significance of spinal position sense. Musculoskeletal science & practice 2017;31:9-20.
Gross A, Langevin P, Burnie SJ, et al. Manipulation and mobilisation for neck pain contrasted against an inactive control or another active treatment. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2015(9):Cd004249.
Gross A, Miller J, D’Sylva J, et al. Manipulation or mobilisation for neck pain: a Cochrane Review. Man Ther 2010;15(4):315-33.
Bryans R, Decina P, Descarreaux M, et al. Evidence-based guidelines for the chiropractic treatment of adults with neck pain. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2014;37(1):42-63.
Goertz CM, Pohlman KA, Vining RD, et al. Patient-centered outcomes of high-velocity, low-amplitude spinal manipulation for low back pain: a systematic review. J Electromyogr Kinesiol 2012;22(5):670-91.
Ruddock JK, Sallis H, Ness A, et al. Spinal Manipulation Vs Sham Manipulation for Nonspecific Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. J Chiropr Med 2016;15(3):165-83.
Bryans R, Descarreaux M, Duranleau M, et al. Evidence-based guidelines for the chiropractic treatment of adults with headache. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2011;34(5):274-89.
Holt KR, Haavik H, Lee AC, et al. Effectiveness of Chiropractic Care to Improve Sensorimotor Function Associated With Falls Risk in Older People: A Randomized Controlled Trial. J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2016.
Healthy ageing focuses on maintaining mental and physical health and avoiding disease so that you can maintain independence and quality of life. Some of the challenges of getting older include memory loss and difficulty in carrying out tasks of daily living such as dressing, bathing, or cooking.
Due to the decline in nervous system function that often accompanies ageing, many older people also experience an increased rate of falls.1 And although getting old may appear like an inevitable downward progression, there is actually something you can do about it – it’s called healthy ageing.
Invest in your Health
Healthy ageing can feel like a big investment in your health, but the returns are rewarding and can restore some control over your health and life. Chiropractic care can support older people with healthy ageing by helping them maintain and improve their overall function.2 3
Why try Chiropractic?
Many research studies have shown that chiropractic care helps the brain become more accurately aware of what is going on inside your body and the world around you.2 4 This is probably why older adults who receive chiropractic care maintain their ability to carry out their activities of daily living, maintain their ability to live independently and look after themselves.3
Chiropractic may help prevent falls in older people
A recent study focused on whether chiropractic care may help older adults improve their function in a way that could decrease their risk of falling.2 This randomised controlled trial compared 12 weeks of chiropractic care to a usual care control in 60 older adults. After 12 weeks the group who received chiropractic care had become better able to know where their ankle joint was when they closed their eyes. They were able to take a step much faster than the control group, they could simultaneously process visual and auditory information more accurately in their brains, and they also felt better than the control group after 12 weeks of chiropractic care. This means they were better able to control and move their bodies in response to potential hazards which may reduce their risk of falling.
On top of that they felt that their quality of life had improved after the chiropractic care as well.
What is Functional Ability?
Functional ability refers to a person’s ability to carry out basic tasks of everyday life.5 These can be divided into basic activities of daily living, which include bathing, dressing, eating, grooming, transferring, and walking across the room; and instrumental activities of daily living, which include taking medications, using the phone, handling finances, housekeeping, cooking, shopping, and using transportation.1
Due to an age-related decline in physical and cognitive function for many people it can become difficult to carry out these tasks as they get older.3 Slowing the rate of functional decline in older adults preserves their autonomy and well-being and reduces the threat of institutionalisation.3
This is very important for older adults because a loss of independence and functional decline are often associated with frailty and ultimately hospitalisation and mortality.6 Researchers have compared the effects of chiropractic care to standard medical care on health outcomes in over 1,000 older adults with back conditions over a two year period.3
They measured their general health status and tracked their ability to carry out their activities of daily living like bathing, shopping, and cooking.
The people who received chiropractic care maintained their ability to carry out their activities of daily living and self-rated health status over a two year period compared to the people who received medical care.3 This means that the chiropractic group maintained their ability to live independently and maintained their health instead of it declining as it did in the medical group. So the chiropractic group were healthier and better able to look after themselves at the end of the study period.
This may mean that chiropractic care for older adults will result in fewer drugs and less medical intervention and its associated adverse effects.
Keep in mind it’s possible that the people who chose to see chiropractors were fundamentally different to those who didn’t and it’s also possible that other factors, besides the chiropractic care, influenced health outcomes between assessments.
Research also suggests that patients managed by chiropractors compared to those managed medically take fewer drugs, require less surgery, and are less likely to be hospitalised.7 In a study published in 20077 researchers compared seven years of health claims from chiropractors to a similar group of health claims from medical doctors. What they found was a 60% decrease in hospital admissions, 62% decrease in outpatient surgery and procedures, and an 85% reduction in pharmaceutical costs for the patients managed by chiropractors compared to the conventional medicine. This may mean that chiropractic care for older adults results in fewer drugs, less medical intervention and its associated adverse effects.
The research reviewed in this article suggests that chiropractic care slows the decline in functional ability associated with ageing,3 which may reduce the need for potentially harmful medical interventions and drugs.7 It also suggests that chiropractic care enhances sensorimotor function associated with falls risk.2 Chiropractic care can help older people to be more active, more independent, more healthy, and to feel better.2 3
For some older people chiropractic care can truly give them their life back!
Does it sometimes feel like you just don’t have the strength that you usually have?
Maybe you can’t lift as much at the gym, or perhaps you just can’t open that stubborn jam jar in the kitchen. Does it feel like someone’s put the handbrake on your muscles?
This idea of having a handbrake on your muscles may actually be more real than you think… well maybe not a handbrake on your muscles, but a handbrake in your brain which is what controls your muscles and tells them to contract..
Over the last few years a number of studies have shown that when you get adjusted by a chiropractor it can make you stronger.
First of all, though, let’s look at why scientists may be interested in how chiropractic care may change the way your brain controls your muscles. The answer to this is really simple. Over the last few years, a number of studies have shown that when you get adjusted by a chiropractor it can make you stronger. One study reported in a group of students who received chiropractic care, that they were actually able to produce 16% more force in their leg muscle after a chiropractor had gently checked and adjusted any dysfunctional spinal segments, or what chiropractors call vertebral subluxations.1
This didn’t happen when the chiropractors did a control intervention that just involved moving their spine, but not adjusting them. The same group of researchers in New Zealand followed up this study in elite Tae Kwon Do athletes, and again showed that even in a group of elite, highly trained athletes, a single session of chiropractic care can improve their strength and also helped to stop their muscles from getting tired.2 They have also studied the effects of chiropractic care in a group of patients who have had a stroke and lost the strength in their muscles. In this study, they found that chiropractic adjustments helped these stroke patients to regain strength in their muscles.3
But what does this have to do with handbrakes in the brain you may wonder. Well, in a new study by the same team of researchers, they wanted to see if chiropractic care resulted in an increase in the way the brain could drive the muscle in the subject’s arms.4 To do this, they measured the participant’s bicep’s muscle strength, and then measured something that’s called ‘central inhibition’, before and after a single session of chiropractic care, or just moving their heads around as a control intervention. This ‘central inhibition’ measure is a bit like the brain’s handbrake to the muscle.
There are two ways the brain can increase the way your muscle contracts. It can either press the gas pedal or it can release the ‘hand brake’ to that muscle. It’s a little bit more complicated than this of course because the brain has many ‘gas pedals’ and many ‘hand brakes’ to every single muscle in your body. But the scientists wanted to know if a particular type of handbrake changed after these subjects got adjusted. The technical term for the method they used to record this was ‘TMS twitch interpolation technique’ and it allows them to explore the way the participant’s brains are driving their arm muscles… in other words, it measured the degree to which their brain was pulling the handbrake to that particular muscle.
It is possible that chiropractic care is releasing the handbrake to your muscles, making it easier for your brain to move your muscles and produce more strength.
So, if you feel like you’ve got a handbrake in your muscles or in your brain, maybe you should come and see a chiropractor and see if we can help your brain release the handbrake so that your brain can more efficiently control your muscles and perhaps even help you to get that jam jar open.
As COVID-19 spread across the world, many people asked, “What can I do to boost my immune system?”
One goal of chiropractic care is to help you function at your optimal potential, including your immune system. So, let’s look at how chiropractic care may affect your immune function.
We all know that there are lots of ways we can help protect ourselves and others and stop viruses like COVID-19 from spreading. We know that washing your hands with soap, sneezing or coughing into your elbow or a tissue, and staying away from others if you are sick are all really important. However, what is also really important is to have a healthy immune system because that is your built-in defence against things like bacteria and viruses that can harm your body.
Research has clearly shown us that your immune system relies on your brain and central nervous system to guide the way it responds to potential threats to your health.1 These 2 super-systems, your central nervous system and immune system, are closely linked and work together to detect and appropriately respond to anything that may harm you.1 Your immune system acts as a sensory system, providing information to your brain about what is occurring in your body. Your brain responds to help create an appropriate immune response. 1-8 So, we know that your brain and immune system communicate and work together to launch an effective and appropriate immune response.1-8
We also know that when your spine is not moving properly, this changes the way your brain can sense what is going on in and around your body and the way it controls your body.9-11 And we know that if your chiropractor adjusts your spine and improves the way it’s moving, it helps your brain to more accurately ‘see’ what is going on in and around your body.12-15 This suggests that having a well-adjusted spine could have an impact on your immune function, so let’s take a look at what the research tells us about this potential link.
When you get adjusted, it alters the way your nervous system works, which then has an impact on the way your immune system works.
Scientific Studies
Two recent scientific studies have summarised the research investigating chiropractic care or spinal manipulation and how it affects the immune system.16 17 One of these reviews 16 found 13 different studies that looked at spinal manipulation and the immune system. Most of these studies focused on a very important immune chemical called cortisol. In the second review,17 they found 8 studies that looked at spinal manipulation and a number of immune chemicals, including cortisol.
What the scientists found in these reviews was that spinal manipulation seems to trigger the activation of the neuro-immuno-endocrine system… in other words, when you get adjusted by your chiropractor, it alters the way your nervous system works, which then has an impact on the way your immune system works. However, there is a big BUT when it comes to understanding what these findings mean.
This is because we simply don’t know yet whether these chemical changes in the immune system have an important impact on your overall immunity or not. To fully understand this, we need to do more research.
So, we know that when your spine is adjusted by your chiropractor it often influences your immune system, but we don’t know if this will have a real impact on the way your immune system will fight off something nasty like a virus.
From these two reviews there are two ‘bottom-line conclusions’ about the link between chiropractic and the immune system:
Chiropractic adjustments have been shown in the research literature to affect the levels of chemicals in your body that are important for a healthy immune response.
We don’t know yet whether these chemical changes have an important impact on your overall immunity or not, to understand this we need to do more research.
So, there is a link, but scientists don’t yet know if that means chiropractic care will improve your immune system in a way that will help prevent you from getting sick, or whether chiropractic will reduce your symptoms if you get sick, or shorten the duration of your illness. Unfortunately, no studies have yet been done that have looked at these very important questions.
This means that when you get adjusted by your chiropractor, it might help you to be able to respond and adapt to your environment better and allow your nervous system and your immune system to talk to each other more clearly, to keep you balanced and healthy. We need to do more research to really find out if chiropractic care really does help boost the function of your immune system in a way that’s important for your health.
References
Kawli T, He F & Tan M-W. Disease models & mechanisms 2010;3(11-12):721-31.
Buckingham JC, et al. Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior 1996;54(1):285-98.
Elenkov IJ, et al. Pharmacological reviews 2000;52(4):595-638.
Herkenham M & Kigar SL. Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry 2017;79(Pt A):49-57.
Kipnis J. Scientific American 2018;319(2):28-35.
Kox M, et al. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2014;111(20):7379-84.
Pearce BD, Biron CA & Miller AH. Advances in Virus Research: Academic Press 2001:469-513.
Sanders VM & Kohm AP. International review of neurobiology 2002;52:17-41.
Uthaikhup S et al. Arch Gerontol Geriatr 2012;55(3):667-72.
Haavik H & Murphy B. J Electromyogr Kinesiol 2012;22(5):768-76.
Treleaven J. Man Ther 2008;13(1):2-11.
Daligadu J, et al.JMPT 2013;36(8):527-37.
Haavik H & Murphy B. Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology 2012;22(5):768-76.
Haavik H, et al. 2017 doi: 10.1016/j. jmpt.2016.10.002
Taylor HH & Murphy B. JMPT 2008;31(2):115-26.
Colombi A & Testa M. Medicina 2019;55(8):448.
Kovanur-Sampath K, et al. Musculoskeletal Science and Practice 2017;29:120-31.
When there is wet weather during the summer months, plants and grass thrive and, if you have a garden, it can seem like you need to mow and weed nearly every weekend. This can lead to aches and pains and even injury unless you take precautions.
People suffer from aches and pains when they undertake what seems to be a relatively sedate activity such as gardening. The actions required are quite different from those carried out in the rest of the year.
The main causes are prolonged stretching and overuse of the ligaments and joints in the spine. Digging, mowing and stooping place considerable stress on the ligaments and joints in the lower lumbar spine and cause them to become inflamed and tender. This will trigger a protective muscle spasm which gives rise to the deeper, duller, achy type of pain that occurs over the following few days.
This happens year after year. It is very important to look after your muscles and joints, especially when undertaking a form of exercise that you are not used to. If you want to stop gardening aches and pains and be able to appreciate all the hard work the next day, then follow these top ten tips:
1 Gently stretch your muscles and ligaments for a few minutes before and after gardening, but don’t bend down to touch your toes – this can cause damage
2 Wear light, but warm clothes & make sure your lower back is always covered
3 Kneel on one leg rather than bending your back repeatedly
4 Use long handled tools to prune tall plants
5 Use only a small spade/fork for digging and keep your back gently hollowed
6 Do not always work to one side only, vary your position
7 Don’t do the same work for long periods, vary your tasks
8 Keep your back straight when carrying
9 When finished have a warm bath or shower
10 Do not sit for too long in your favourite armchair afterwards, but stand up regularly and walk around for a minute or two
Think of holidays and most people will dream up images of days spent having a good time, perhaps relaxing in the sun or pursuing new interests. But how many people would wish to imagine themselves lying down indoors with back pain?
Unanticipated injury, such as back pain, can spoil a good holiday – don’t let it spoil yours. Aim to reach a good level of fitness before you go away, and when taking part in sports, make sure you know how play them properly.
Whatever physical activities you choose to engage in, bear in mind that a good number of back complaints are offset by failing to warm up properly before exercising.
Different sports have different guidelines as to how you should take care of your back. For example, when swimming it’s important not to try to keep the whole of the head out of the water, as this places considerable strain on the neck and shoulders, which can lead to problems in the lower back
Golf can present its own problems, particularly if the muscles aren’t warmed up before hand in order to cope with the rotation (twisting) of the lower back when swinging the club. Prevent this by practicing stretching and flexibility exercises before playing.
Choosing a balanced diet containing the right vitamins and minerals decreases our chances of developing deficiencies later on in life. Try this healthy diet plan for optimum bone, muscle and joint health.
A Healthy Diet Plan
Calcium
For bone, muscle and joint health try and include calcium in your diet, which is essential for optimal nerve and muscle function and blood clotting.
Obtained from:
Dairy products are rich in calcium that is easy to absorb. Non-dairy sources with equally absorbable calcium are green leafy vegetables from the kale family. Spinach, rhubarb, sweet potatoes and dried beans are rich in calcium, but from these foods it’s not so easily absorbed.
Magnesium
Required for efficient muscle contraction and conduction of nerve impulses. Low magnesium levels in the body can affect the body’s calcium levels, putting bone health at risk.
Obtained from:
Green leafy vegetables, unrefined grains and nuts. Small amounts are present in meat and milk. Large quantities of fibre in the diet and low protein intake can reduce the amount of magnesium able to be absorbed by the body.
Vitamin D
Essential for regulating the formation of bone and the absorption of calcium from the intestine. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that functions to help control the movement of calcium between bone and blood.
Obtained from:
Primarily from the action of UVB light (sunshine) on the skin. Food sources such as cod liver oil, sardines, salmon, tuna, milk and milk products contain small amounts of Vitamin D.
Vitamin C
The structure of bones, cartilage, muscles and blood vessels is provided in part and maintained by collagen. The formation of strong efficient collagen requires Vitamin C.
Obtained from:
Citrus fruits, berries, tomatoes, cauliflower, potatoes, green leafy vegetable and peppers. Also important for producing strong collagen and therefore strong bone structure is Folic acid. Folic acid is found in cereals, beans, green leafy vegetables, orange and orange juice.
Antioxidants
Vitamin C is also a strong antioxidant and is capable of regenerating other antioxidants like vitamin E. The role of antioxidants is to mop up free radicals (the by-products of normal metabolism). Excessive amounts of free radicals cause damage to joint surfaces and muscle cell regeneration. Antioxidants reduce the potential of these free radicals to cause joint damage.
Obtained from:
Antioxidants are vitamins A, C, E and the mineral selenium and are present in fruits and vegetables, the highest quantities are found in the most deeply and brightly coloured. The cartilage that lines the articulating surfaces of all joints is critical to joint health. Cartilage is the shock absorber of joints and is continually rebuilt if a source of raw materials is available. Supplements such as glucosamine sulphate can be added to a healthy diet to assist joints that may be showing signs of wear and tear.
Essential fatty acids
Essential fatty acids (EFAs) also reduce the degenerative changes in tissues and cells and help guard against some cancers. EFAs are unsaturated fatty acids. They aid in decreasing the inflammatory response and help relieve pain and discomfort in joints and muscles.
Obtained from:
EFA’s, such as Omega 3, can be found in oily fish, (sardines, herrings, mackerel), and seeds.
Foods to avoid…
There are certain foods and substances that adversely affect the body’s use of minerals and vitamins. High saturated/animal fats, refined foods, white flour, white sugar, white rice, chocolate, carbonated drinks and fruit juices with high sugar concentration should be kept to a minimum if not weaned from the diet completely. Meat and dairy products should be kept within a recommended weekly amount. Dairy products such as calcium sources should be varied with other non-dairy sources.
Whether it’s being told to sit up straight or stop slouching, there’s many reasons why we were told to keep an eye on our posture growing up. However, as adults, we sometimes form bad habits and forget the importance of good posture.
Whether it’s physical or mental health, posture plays an important role in our overall health and has a variety of benefits.
Poor posture
Posture refers to the position of your body when you are standing or sitting and, more specifically, how your spine is aligned with your head, shoulders, and hips.
Poor posture occurs when the spine is not positioned in a neutral alignment. This could mean the curves in the spine are more emphasised than they should be. For example, by hunching over with your head forward. A common cause of this is ‘tech neck’, which results from us hunching over cell phones or computers.
Poor posture results in the joints, muscles and vertebrae being in stressful positions and, over a prolonged period, can have several negative impacts on your body.
Good posture
The back has three natural curves: at the neck, mid back, and lower back. Good posture maintains these curves by ensuring your head is above your shoulders and the top of the shoulders is over the hips.
It can sometimes feel uncomfortable or awkward to adjust your posture because bad posture doesn’t always cause pain or discomfort.
Here is a quick reminder for how to maintain posture when sitting or standing:
Sitting: the feet should rest flat on the floor, with even weight on both hips and your back should be mostly straight. The shoulders should be back and relaxed, whilst the ears line up over the collarbones.
Standing: the legs should have a slight bend in the knee so they are not hyperextended or locked, and weight should be evenly distributed. The shoulders should be down, and the spine and pelvis remains in a neutral position.
Physical benefits of good posture
There are many physical benefits associated with good posture, some of which are listed below.
Reduced back pain
Standing or sitting with poor posture for prolonged periods of time places additional stress on your lower back, which can be a common cause of back pain.
Less tension in the neck and shoulders
Particularly for ‘tech neck’ where the head is in a forward position, there can be additional strain on the upper back, shoulders, and neck. Good posture ensures the joints and ligaments are less stressed.
Fewer headaches
Poor posture can be the reason for tension headaches because it increases muscle tension in the back of the neck.
Lung capacity
Slouching compresses the lungs, so correcting your posture enables more space for your lungs to expand.
Improved strength
Maintaining good posture means using your muscles and keeping them engaged, particularly the muscles in your core and upper back.
Mental benefits of good posture
Increased energy levels
Good posture encourages the muscles to be used as they’re intended, rather than wasting energy. This means you will feel less fatigued.
Increased confidence
Together with increased energy levels, good posture can make you look taller and more toned, which can boost your self-confidence.
Cortisol is the body’s main stress hormone and is well-known for triggering the “fight or flight” response in our bodies when we are stressed. However, cortisol is also responsible for regulating a wide range of processes throughout the body.
What is cortisol?
Cortisol is a steroid hormone produced in the adrenal glands, which is then released into the blood and transported around the body.
What does cortisol do?
Almost all our cells contain receptors for cortisol, meaning it plays an important role in several things your body does. For example, cortisol:
Manages how your body uses proteins, carbohydrates, and fats
Regulates blood pressure
Increases blood sugar
Keeps inflammation down
Controls your sleep/wake cycle
Boosts energy
The short-term release of cortisol can give your body energy to fight or flee from a stressor, but it is possible for our cortisol levels to become unbalanced.
Too much stress
Usually, cortisol levels balance when the stress your body was reacting to passes. However, when cortisol levels are too high for too long, the hormone can have a negative impact on your body.
There are some health issues associated with high levels of cortisol over a prolonged period, including:
Weight gain
High blood pressure
Insomnia or difficulty sleeping
Mood irregularities
In women, this can impact periods causing them to become irregular, less frequent or stop altogether.
Cortisol levels have also been linked to conditions like anxiety or depression.
Managing cortisol levels
There are some lifestyle habits that can help you to manage cortisol levels.
Sleep
Getting the right amount of sleep can be an effective way to reduce cortisol levels. Several things can be done to optimise your sleep, such as limiting caffeine intake, avoiding nicotine or alcohol, and implementing a regular sleep schedule.
Exercise
Exercise can increase or decrease cortisol, depending on the intensity. Intense exercise can increase cortisol levels afterwards, which will decrease a few hours later.
However, regular exercise can also help with managing stress and promoting good health, which may help lower cortisol levels.
Eating a nutritious diet
When trying to lower cortisol levels, it is important to eat a healthy and balanced diet, paying attention to sugar intake. Fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, and even dark chocolate are thought to be helpful for managing cortisol.
Similarly, it is important to ear on a regularly because low blood sugar can increase cortisol.
Staying hydrated
Dehydration has been linked to temporary increases in cortisol levels, meaning it is important to drink enough water throughout the day.
Breathe
Deep breathing is a simple and effective way to reduce stress. It can stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, which is associated with relaxation and lower cortisol levels. Meditation or yoga are just two examples of ways to practice deep breathing.
