Recently a patient posed this question: “Does chiropractic help with arthritis?” It’s a great question and is worthy of an answer. Let’s answer it by asking some questions:
1. What is arthritis? The literal break-down of the word is arthro meaning “joint,” and itis which means “inflammation of.” Arthritis is painful inflammation and stiffness of joints, which leads us to our next question…
2. What is the most common cause of “painful inflammation and stiffness of joints?” Joints do not undergo inflammation and stiffness if they have three different healthy qualities. They must have healthy motion, healthy alignment and a healthy pH environment. If you maintain healthy joint motion and alignment with a healthy pH environment, arthritis will have a difficult if not impossible time settling into your joints.
3. What can be done to help maintain a healthy pH in your body? The insides of your body thrive in a more alkaline environment. Eating foods that encourage an alkaline internal environment are vegetables (mostly anything green) and even fruits. Meat and dairy products as well as many processed foods and drinks leave behind an acidic internal environment, which doesn’t help. Also, adequate Vitamin D levels can be extremely helpful.
4. What can be done to help maintain healthy joint motion and position in your body? This is where chiropractic is necessary. Chiropractic adjustments help to improve healthy motion and position of the joints in your vertebral segments and extremities. Each chiropractic appointment is an attempt by your chiropractor to ascertain and discover areas of unhealthy motion and position of joints and, using proper education in the area of spinal and structural correction, perform the adjustment.
So in summary, arthritis is painful inflammation that can strike your joints if your body has an unhealthy pH, motion or position for too long. To correct this, you must strive for a diet rich in vegetables and fruits. You should also work hard to attain Vitamin D through either sun exposure or through supplementation (Vitamin D3 is best). And last but not least, you must make sure that your joints have healthy motion and position through regular chiropractic adjustments.
Keep in mind that you can be proactive and take steps now to attempt to prevent arthritis. Or you can wait until there is enough degeneration and decay in your joints and internal environment to allow arthritis to set in, and then attempt to address it.
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