Experiences With Chiropractors, Pain and DJD

Back and neck pain have been a part of my life from a very early age even as far back as my late teens. The pain has been very difficult to deal with at times as the back pain occasionally renders me almost completely incapacitated and the neck pain quite often results in excruciating, blinding headaches. Through the accumulated help of various medical doctors and chiropractors, I've learned some ways to help to deal with the pain and even to lessen the frequency and severity of pain. Ideally, as anyone who suffers with pain on a regular basis would agree, the goal is to eliminate pain altogether but that is not always possible.

Beginning in my early to mid twenties, I began regular visits to a chiropractor and experienced significant relief between appointments. Appointments during the following 12 to 14 years were not at set intervals but were on an as needed basis. The chiropractor that had been seeing me during that period of time practiced manipulation of the spine through means of "popping" the spine and by about age 38 my neck pain had become so severe and consistent that I could no longer tolerate having my neck "popped". At the urging of a friend, I went to visit a chiropractor that used pressure point manipulation techniques that have a similarity to acupuncture. This type of treatment has proven helpful and has allowed me to cope with the pain into my early 50's.

This is not to suggest that chiropractic treatments alone have provided relief, but rather that these treatments combined with other means of dealing with the pain have helped with the severity and frequency of pain. Back and neck exercises that involve stretching and strengthening techniques have been a great help and I've done these regularly for over 17 years. Anyone with access to the internet can do a search for back and neck exercises to learn more about the different exercises that are helpful in this area. At about age 40, an orthopedic doctor diagnosed me with Degenerative Joint Disease (DJD) and prescribed physical therapy. The therapist taught me some new exercises that have also been a help in my daily struggle to deal with pain. Learning the benefits of using heat and ice as needed has also provided an additional way to help deal with the pain. Another form of therapy that has proven beneficial is the use of an inversion table. The one that I have is made by Teeter Hang Ups and has given a great deal of relief through the decompression of the spine that it provides. Fortunately, surgery has not been recommended to this point and that is a step that is best avoided as long as possible because it seems so many have surgeries that do not provide relief and often increase pain rather than relieve it.  

As suggested by the title, the purpose of this publication is very simply to try to help people in everyday life deal with health and fitness issues as they pertain to folks just trying to stay healthy enough to work and do the things they enjoy. It is not nor is it meant to be professional advice – that will be left to doctors, chiropractors and therapists. The purpose is simply to share some ideas that have worked to help me cope with some physical issues and hopefully they will help others as well. My search for relief from pain as a result of DJD will not end as long as the pain exists and other practical ideas for dealing with or eliminating pain caused by this disease would be welcomed. As with many things, what works for one may not work as well for another. May we all discover the road to better health and fitness!

What Weight Loss Ideas Really Work?

Every day we are bombarded from all sides with people touting this weight loss program and that weight loss idea. It is quite obvious from all this rhetoric about losing weight that many people are looking for ways to slim down. An internet search for weight loss programs and ideas will literally pull up millions of results – my search showed 184,000,000. That averages out to close to one weight loss idea for every two people living in the US. Sure, there are probably a lot of duplicate results in that search, but it still gives us an indication of the multitude of ideas that are being pushed as solutions to personal weight issues among Americans. It seems we are obsessed with losing weight and maybe rightfully so, given the escalating percentage of Americans who are significantly over their idea weight according to the so-called experts in this field.

So if you are among those of us who could stand to lose a few, or maybe quite a few pounds, what do you do? Who do you believe? What really works? The answer may very well be that what works for some may not work for others. That would help to explain the glut of weight loss ideas that are thrown at us from every form of media. Personally, I've found from experience that the one thing that will work for everyone is just simply don't eat – anything! Oh, this was not an intentional experiment, but when I had my tonsils taken out at age 47, I just couldn't eat for about ten days – 20 pounds gone just like that! I'm not recommending that as a means of losing weight, just saying it absolutely will work.

Reasonably, the best solution for those trying to lose those extra pounds is going to be to incorporate a program that combines eating better foods with smaller servings and increased exercise. There is no question that if we take in more calories than our bodies burn, we are going to gain pounds and inches. That's just the way it is! Excess body fat is not just an issue of appearance, but can also lead to other serious health problems when a person gets well beyond their ideal weight. Anyone who wishes to learn how to eat better and exercise to lose weight can find help on the internet or in books and magazines dedicated to those subjects. Surely there are weight loss ideas out there that will work for most everyone. It's just a matter of finding the right fit for each one's individual needs. Possibly the real issue for many will simply be making the determination that "I'm going to start and stick with it"!

How many times have you seen a weight loss program that talks of how many pounds their participants have lost and then the fine print says that the results are not typical? Would you be interested in a program that claims their results are typical?

If so, check this out!

Muscle building workouts for skinny guys!

What young man hasn't had thoughts of working out and putting on more muscle; thoughts of getting stronger? How many have spent hours working out at home or in a gym somewhere and really never achieved the desired results? Strength training programs and muscle building workouts take significant effort, dedication and persistence to get the results you are seeking. The problem so many encounter is that no matter how much effort is put into the workouts, these guys often just seem to kind of "spin their wheels" and end up getting discouraged and then quit. Wouldn't it be great if these "hardgainers" and "skinny guys" could learn a secret to help gain muscle? Wouldn't it be great if there was someone who could offer muscle gaining secrets for an average young man who is trying to get the body of his dreams?

There actually are programs now that are designed to help regular folks build muscle, even a young man who doesn't have the time or resources to follow a professional body builder's regiment. What is needed for someone who has always found it difficult to build muscle is a guide that helps eliminate the ways that don't work and teach the correct way to workout. Nutritional instruction may be needed as well, because no amount of strength training is going to produce the desired results if the muscles are not getting the fuel they require to grow. You need muscle building foods to see increase in muscle mass.

Could you use some help with your workout?  For no nonsense muscle building instruction, GO HERE!