4 Ways A Proper Diet Can Relieve Your Aches & Pains

According to the World Health Organization, 60% of factors related to your health and quality of life are directly related to your lifestyle choices. One of the most important lifestyle choices you can make is choosing to buy and eat healthier foods! Do you have chronic pain? If so, you may want to take a closer look at what’s in your grocery cart, fridge, and pantry, because it turns out your diet could be making your pain better or worse.

At our clinic, our physical therapist staff is happy to educate patients about ways to make smarter dietary decisions, so they can control their pain more effectively. When combined with regular exercise and a customized physical therapy plan that addresses underlying injury and illness, a healthy diet can truly do wonders for your function and quality of life. Call us today to learn more about adopting a healthy exercise and diet routine to manage your chronic pain.

Tips to point you in the right direction…

Here are four ways you can start making positive changes to your health today.

1. Improve your tissue and joint health by drinking enough water

It’s important to hydrate yourself on a daily basis. Make sure you’re not only drinking coffee and tea. Drinking water helps keep your joints lubricated and can prevent stiffness and achiness. Water is also important for helping your body flush out toxins and metabolic waste products that may be associated with inflammation.

So drink up! Aim for at least one-third to one-half of your body weight in fluid ounces of fresh water per day. Try to keep a refillable water bottle with you during the day to remind you to stay hydrated!

2. Watch how much you’re eating

The amount of food you eat should be enough to support exercise and a lean body weight. If you aren’t eating enough food, you’ll have low energy levels and you won’t be able to build strong muscles to support your joints and keep you moving.

On the other hand, if you consume too much food, you run the risk of becoming overweight, which has been shown to be a risk factor for inflammation and chronic pain. Excess weight also places you at a higher risk for developing type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and strokes, certain types of cancer, and sleep apnea.

3. Eat foods that combat inflammation

Acute inflammation (such as what happens when you stub your toe or pull a muscle) is a normal and healthy response of the immune system. However, there’s a problem when an acute reaction turns into a chronic, or constant, state. it’s as if your body goes into high alert—and pain is one of the major alarms!

To support tissue healing and anti-inflammation, be sure to eat plenty of healthy foods and nutrients like:

  • Omega-3 fatty acids, which you can get from quality supplements and also foods like fish, eggs, and nuts.
  • Healthy protein, found in lean meats and other animal products as well as certain plants (protein contains amino acids, which are the building blocks of tissues and cells).
  • Vitamins and minerals, including Vitamin C and magnesium, are found in supplements, leafy green vegetables, and fruits.

4. Avoid foods that increase inflammation

Just like there are foods you should eat to combat existing inflammation, there are also foods you can stop eating to avoid inflammation altogether. Chronic inflammation is a major factor underlying most health conditions, including chronic pain conditions like arthritis, fibromyalgia, migraine headaches, and more.

By avoiding foods known to promote inflammation, you’ll be able to improve your gut and immune health, absorb more tissue-healthy nutrients from the foods you do eat, and reduce inflammation, pain, and stiffness throughout your body.

The most common pro-inflammatory foods in our diets include:

  • Sugar
  • Gluten
  • Dairy products
  • Trans fats

If you have chronic pain, avoid or eliminate these foods for a certain amount of time and see how your body responds. You might be amazed at how much better you’ll feel without these substances in your diet! Remember, we are what we eat, so we should make our meals healthy!

Ready to learn more about a nutrient-rich diet?

If you’re dealing with chronic pain and inflammation, the answer to your problem could be solved by a change in what you’re putting on your plate. Contact our physical therapist team today to schedule an appointment and learn how you can combat or even eliminate your pain through a healthy and well-balanced diet.

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Is Your Sciatica Causing You Discomfort? Here are 3 Indicators that Physical Therapy is Needed

Did You Know Physical Therapy Is Proven to Help with Sciatica?

Each of your sciatic nerves runs from either side of your lower back down to each of your legs. That’s why a classic sign of sciatica is having a shooting pain on one side only.

While compression of one of your sciatic nerves can literally be a “pain in the butt,” it doesn’t always require medical attention.

Yet sometimes physical therapy is your best bet to banish sciatica symptoms. So how can you tell when to go it alone, and when to call a physical therapist? These guidelines below will explain what exactly sciatica is and how physical therapy can help you find relief.

Sciatica, explained

As stated by Move Forward Physical Therapy,

“Lumbar radiculopathy (also known as sciatica or radiculitis) is a condition that occurs when a nerve in your low back is injured, pinched, or compressed, causing pain or other symptoms that can extend from the low back to the hip, leg, or foot. Lumbar radiculopathy can be caused by sudden trauma or by long-term stress affecting structures in the back. It most often affects people aged 30 to 50 years. Risk factors for lumbar radiculopathy include repeated lifting, participating in weight-bearing sports, obesity, smoking, sedentary lifestyles, and poor posture. The majority of lumbar radiculopathy and sciatica cases recover without surgery, and respond well to physical therapy. Physical therapists design individualized treatment programs to help people with lumbar radiculopathy reduce their pain, regain normal movement, and get back to their normal activities.”

To learn more about how to recognize when your sciatica is in need of physical therapy intervention, continue reading below.

1. When the pain is a response to an injury

Mild sciatica can build up over time, and it may even go away on its own. But when you have an onset of classic sciatica symptoms following a car accident, serious fall or sports injury, contact a doctor and a physical therapist.

The symptoms are more likely to be severe because of the greater impact on the area surrounding the sciatic nerve. It’s important to determine the severity of nerve damage. Your medical team needs to evaluate the need for surgery, steroid injections or prescription drugs.

Of course, even if your injury requires more aggressive treatment, physical therapy is often recommended as part of the recovery plan. Your physical therapist can help you with surgery rehab. He or She can also focus on extending the benefits of your injections and sciatica medication.

For many people with persistent or severe sciatica, physical therapy can be a lifeline. You’ll be taught targeted moves that strengthen your lower back. Strong muscles support the area around your sciatic nerve and can prevent future injuries. You’ll also work on improving your posture to keep sciatica symptoms at bay. Increasing range of motion is also part of physical therapy for sciatica.

2. When your symptoms begin to become severe

If your sciatic nerve becomes seriously compressed, the resulting symptoms can go from uncomfortable to quite painful – and even embarrassing.

You may become weak and numb on one side. Sometimes, even getting your leg or foot to move becomes impossible. If the pain hits you suddenly, and with great intensity, it’s probably time to visit a physical therapist to begin easing the pain.

Another telltale sign? The sciatic nerve can become compressed in the area that controls bladder and/or bowel function.

If you lose control of either or both of these functions, you’ll obviously want to get professional help. Visit a doctor to rule out other problems. She will likely run tests, as well as refer you to a physical therapist.

3. When your home remedies fail to work

There are plenty of things you can do at home to ease a mild sciatica flare-up. Alternating with cold and heat is a classic treatment for sciatica symptoms. Use an ice pack, followed by a heating pad, for about 15 minutes per application.

Sleeping with a pillow between your knees can also help. If you can’t get comfortable during the day or at night, try a reclining chair to redirect the pressure from your lower back. Going for walks often helps ease sciatica pain, because “babying” your condition can actually make it worse.

Yet while these methods may help with mild sciatica, there are times when a physical therapy session is a far better strategy. One sign that you should consult a physical therapist is if your home treatments are having little or no effect in reducing the pain and restricted motion.

Another is if the symptoms persist for at least a week. Of course, the worsening of pain is the most important sign that physical therapy is needed.

Ready to get started?

Contact us today to speak with an experienced physical therapist about how to manage – and even banish – painful sciatica flare-ups.

It’s Time To End Your Battle With Chronic Joint Pain

If your joints have been bothering you for a few months, know that you’re not alone. Joint pain plagues an increasing number of aging, often arthritic Americans. As a matter of fact, a report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that in 2002, about 10.5 million people in the United States said they battled severe joint pain, but by 2014 that number had jumped to 14.6 million. That’s a pretty big leap, and it certainly leaves a lot of room for concern. The question now is, what exactly can be done to combat the painful effects of this ever-growing condition? The answer just might be physical therapy. If you have chronic joint pain, don’t ignore it or assume it will go away on its own. Give our office a call and set up an appointment with one of our certified physical therapists.

What is chronic joint pain?

Chronic joint pain refers to “discomfort, aches, and soreness in any of the body’s joints.” Joint pain is common, but thankfully doesn’t usually require a hospital visit. The joints form where the ends of two bones meet, such as the elbow, knee and hip. Its components stabilize the joint and allow it to move freely. The joint components have a capsule, which is a sac that holds the joint. It’s filled with synovial fluid for lubrication.

There is also cartilage that covers the ends of the bones in the specific joint. Chronic joint pain lasts for months and can even last a lifetime. Pain may range from moderate to severe and can be extremely debilitating. If you’re dealing with chronic joint pain of any sort, don’t bank on it to heal itself without medical attention!

Causes of chronic joint pain

One of the most common causes of chronic joint pain is arthritis. This includes rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis progresses slowly and typically affects the knees, hips, hands and wrists. It can cause inflammation, pain and fluid buildup.

Other common causes of chronic joint pain are:

  • Fibromyalgia
  • Osteoporosis
  • Overuse of a joint
  • Tendinitis
  • Bursitis
  • Sarcoidosis
  • Rickets
  • An injury
  • Gout

The symptoms of chronic joint pain generally include stiffness, inflammation and tenderness around the joint area, decreased range of motion and decreased mobility. If your joint pain persists for more than three days, it’s time to see a physical therapist for a thorough examination in order to determine the root cause of your pain.

How can physical therapy help chronic joint pain?

Physical therapy is a safe, holistic, and effective way to combat chronic joint pain conditions. A physical therapist will custom tailor a therapeutic exercise program to strengthen your body, increase your mobility and reduce pain. According to Verywell Health “Physical therapy for joint pain focuses on maintaining joint function and range of motion, strengthening muscles surrounding the joint, and minimizing joint stiffness and pain. Depending on your condition, your physical therapist may recommend a walking aid, brace, or splint to improve your functioning.”

A physical therapist will focus on the surrounding area of the joint pain. Strengthening and weight-bearing activity increase joint lubrication. For example, if you suffer from knee pain, the treatment plan will address impairments at the hip, ankle and lower back. All of these areas contribute to knee control and proper knee mechanics.

Your physical therapist may choose to utilize manual therapy to increase your mobility and to decrease your pain. This will likely include soft tissue mobilization and joint stabilization. Soft tissue mobilization is a hands-on technique that is used on muscles, fascia and ligaments. It breaks up any existing adhesions.

The goal is to reduce swelling, decrease pain, restore functionality and improve range of motion. If at any time your physical therapist recommends a stretch or exercise that is uncomfortable for you to perform, let them know! Honesty is key to a successful treatment outcome; they will be able to adjust the exercise so that you can complete it comfortably.

Are you seeking pain relief for chronic joint pain?

If you’re seeking relief from stiffness and chronic joint pain, call us today to make an appointment. Our physical therapists can help you! We use research-proven treatments for quick relief and help our patients get back to their normal lifestyle. Contact our clinic or visit us in Dublin, GA for a one-on-one consultation and evaluation, and get back to leading the life you love, free of pain and joint discomfort.

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