Many people lose height as they age; the average loss is 1 to 3 inches! How much you lose is dependent on a combination of factors. These include loss of disc height, compression fractures, spinal curvatures, dropped arches in the feet and loss of cartilage in other weight bearing joints (feet, ankles, knees and hips). Besides trauma/fractures, most of this occurs because of deterioration of the joints associated with osteoarthritis. These changes to our body’s structure are permanent and nearly inevitable as we age. But there are a number of things you can do to greatly slow this process down. Keep reading for some helpful tips about how to keep your joints and spine healthy and your posture upright to keep walking tall here….
While it seems a shorter stature is in everyone’s future, here are some ways of taking care of your joints and spinal discs to help combat the process…
- Chiropractic care
Chiropractic care helps keep your spine in proper alignment and corrects fixations in the discs. When alignment problems occur, fixations in the discs reduce their nutrition and cause deterioration. Chiropractic adjustments restore motion back to these ligaments and improves fluid flow back to the disc. This stops any further degeneration for a while, but further follow up is important.
- Regenerative medicine
Regenerative medicine care for deterioration of weight bearing joints helps the body stimulate healing of damage to repair and replace degenerative connective tissue. Catching joint degeneration early is key so it takes less regenerative medicine to be effective plus shorter recovery times.
- Orthotics for dropped arches
Overpronation of the feet (loss of arch) causes increased stress on the knees, hips and spine and greatly contributes to their deterioration over time. Custom made shoe inserts helps combat this problem and reduces stress on the entire kinetic chain (all your joints).
- Exercise
Motion is lotion for the joints. Regular (moderate) exercise helps the joints stay lubricated and thus reduces deterioration. Going through a course of rehab once/year can be extremely helpful in not only improving stability of the joints but also catching/restoring any muscular imbalances that can also eventually contribute to connective tissue deterioration.
- Water & nutrition
Dehydrated joints and weak nutrition greatly contributes to degenerative connective tissue. Drinking copious amounts of water and eating healthy helps reduce acids by keeping soft tissues of the body (including the spine and joints) hydrated and resilient.
- Proper Rest
The spinal discs lose fluid (and so become thinner) while you’re upright during the day. They fill back up when you sleep at night. So getting enough sleep each night is extremely important in slowing the deterioration of the spine.
Come to Solutions for a check up! Let us do an evaluation of your spine to make sure it’s healthy. Let us evaluate your weight bearing joints to combat deterioration early with natural treatments like regenerative medicine. Consider going through a course or comprehensive rehab once/year to keep your ligaments functional and balanced. If you’re not wearing custom orthotics or need another pair, contact us right away.
