Chiropractic, Nutrition & Arthritis

We often get questions regarding what conditions we treat, what ailments we can help with and what we cannot.  Time and time again, we see great results with neck and back pain, headaches, sports injuries and so on.  But one area most people hesitate to look for help is with regard to a common complaint, osteoarthritis (OA), also known as degenerative joint disease.

Believe it or not, our office can help.  Not only will we get you started on an anti-inflammatory diet, we can recommend a variety of supplements to help you.  Not only that, joint manipulation of hypomobile (restricted) joints was also shown to be beneficial with regard to arthritis.  More on that in a minute, but first let's get into vitamin D.

One recent study (performed by Turkish researchers at the Ankara Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Training and Research Hospital) showed the benefits of supplementation through vitamin D with regard to OA and thinning cartilage.  Another clinical trial showed vitamin D's benefits with regard to managing pain associated with OA.  Supplementing with vitamin D is just one option to combat your OA, as it is most beneficial to get your vitamin D from other sources, including the sun and foods!

Now on to how chiropractic can help.  Two separate studies published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics (JMPT) showed a link between joint restrictions (what we as chiropractors treat) and degenerative changes (i.e. arthritis).  One of the studies, published in 2004, looked at how spinal fixations contributed to degenerative changes.  The study showed that in areas with spinal fixations, degenerative changes took place, even resulting in the formation of bone spurs (osteophytes) around the facet (or Z) joints.  The second study had implications suggesting that spinal manipulation could break up facet joint adhesions shown to result in degenerative changes.

Lots of information to digest here but here's the bottom line: we can help you try to prevent degenerative changes and manage the discomfort of your arthritis.  If you're ready for some relief, give us a call at (260) 755-5953 or e-mail the office at [email protected].