My Health “Regular exercise”

Regular exercise is important for overall health and wellness. It strengthens muscles and bones, and improves our mental health. By exercising outside we are exposed to vitamin D which controls the levels of calcium in our bloodstream and keeps our bones and muscles healthy.

If you are exercising to reduce back pain or leg pain you are in luck. In the Annals of Internal Medicine Vol161(6) 2014 Spinal Manipulation and Home Exercise With Advice for Subacute and Chronic Back-Related Leg Pain it was pointed out that back related leg pain can cause significant disability and lower quality of life.

The use of medications and injections only for these problems are not supported by long term benefit. The American College of Physicians and the British medical association do not recommend medication for the treatment of back pain. Too often it doesn’t have a lasting benefit and there can be detrimental side effects.

The 2014 study showed that “at 12 weeks 37% of people receiving exercise and spinal manipulation had at least 75% reduction in leg pain compared with 19% in the exercise group” At 52 weeks the results were less strong but still positive for exercise combined with spinal manipulative therapy.

Regular chiropractic and remedial massage keep your joints functioning and muscles relaxed, leading to better spinal health. Long hours working from home and trying to stay warm mean chiropractic and massage are more important than ever for healthy functioning spines.