Another blog post from Ann Arbor Chiropractor, Dr. Mike Tannenbaum: Chiropractic Care and Exercise Help You Achieve and Maintain an Active Lifestyle

At my Ann Arbor chiropractic office, we let our patients  know that if they want to be healthy in mind and body, they need to have an active lifestyle. An active lifestyle does not mean you have to become a marathon runner. There are many other ways to be active, for all body types. Chiropractic care and exercise can go a long way in establishing and maintaining an active lifestyle.

In attempting to have an active lifestyle, one of the biggest obstacles is sedentary behavior. Recent studies show that 70% of Americans sit for at least 6 hours a day, and 80% of U.S. adults are not meeting the recommendations for aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities. Sedentary behavior often leads to poor health, such as increased abdominal body fat, high blood pressure, increased “bad” cholesterol, increased stress level, and a weaker immune system. Regular physical exercise can really lower the chance of developing the health issues associated with a sedentary lifestyle; and conversely, staying physically and mentally active with exercise promotes health and well-being.

Here are some things that exercise can help with:

• Retention of good posture

• Strengthening muscles

• Improving body stability

• Developing better ergonomic awareness

• Improved sense of well-being

So, how does chiropractic fit into this? Having an active lifestyle is much easier if you are not in pain, and of course, chiropractic helps establish and maintain a pain-free existence. In addition, having a healthy lifestyle is much easier to accomplish if you have proper body mechanics – again, this too is something chiropractic can help you with.

Some of the specific areas that chiropractic can address, which help keep your active lifestyle, are:

• Treating neck, back, shoulder, and “extremity” (arm and leg) pain

• Promoting better posture

• Improving joint mobility

• Decreasing recovery time from injury or from hard exercise  

• Reducing stress

• Improving body stability

• Improving the body’s ability to keep its balance

If you have any questions about this blog post, chiropractic, back pain, neck pain, or headaches, I can be reached at my Ann Arbor chiropractic office at [email protected]