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HEALTH&FITNESS
292
May15
According to DR WILLIAM CHOI of the
Academy of Chiropractic
Clinic
, who practises the Gonstead Method, back pain is one of
the most common medical problems nowadays. The good news?
There’s much we can do to prevent spinal diseases and keep
ourselves pain-free.
What can we do to avoid back problems?
Stay fit and keep active, for one, as part of a healthy lifestyle designed
to prevent overweight and obesity. Obesity – especially a big belly
– puts stress on the spine. To make things worse, weak back and
abdominal muscles are unable to support the spine properly.
Ageing plays a role, of course, and we do tend to experience more
back problems as we grow older. However, studies show that the
less physically fit tend to be more susceptible to back pain at any
age. That is not to say you should go out and exercise strenuously,
especially if you’ve been sedentary for a while. To prevent exercise-
related injury, it’s important to ease yourself gently into exercise; I
advocate moderate exercise done on a daily basis.
And, of course, don’t smoke tobacco. Smoking increases the risk
of both low back pain and sciatica. What’s more, it slows down the
pace of healing, because it blocks the delivery of nutrients to the
spinal discs.
Can back problems be hereditary?
Yes, to a point: if a relative suffers from illnesses such as ankylosing
spondylitis (a form of arthritis that affects the spine), there’s a chance
you might too. Race also plays a role. African women are two to three
times more likely to develop spinal problems than white women are.
What tends to go
wrong with the
spine?
D a m a g e t h a t
prevents the spinal
cord from sending
messages to the
brain can af fect
the body in several
w a y s . I t m i g h t
cause a low heart
rate or low blood
pressure, difficulty
in swallowing, an
inability to regulate
body temperature, a weakening of the muscles used for breathing
and coughing, or a loss of bowel and bladder control.
How does the Gonstead Method work to correct these
abnormalities?
The Gonstead Method focuses on specific and accurate spinal
adjustments, made only to the problematic areas. Your Gonstead
doctor’s goal is to help you restore and maintain optimal health, by
providing youwith themost precise and painless adjustments. Through
this, it will help you to achieve a biomechanically correct position.
#2
Makes You Pain-free
Andrey Popov | Dreamstime.com