Community Corner

Five Keys to Moving Better

Tips for maintaining healthy and comfortable bodily movement.

Editor's note: The following article is courtesy of Ken Freedman, of Freedman Chiropractic Center.

Anyone who has ever lost their ability to move well knows how frustrating and frightening it can be.  Movement improves the quality of your life and your ability to work and play at your best. Better movement also has benefits to the function of your heart, lungs, muscles, joints, brain and emotions. Regardless of a person’s chronological age, the better you move, the younger you feel.

One of the major reasons people visit my office initially is due to their desire to move better, reduce limitations, and feel younger. Whether you have a painful condition that has been unresponsive to drugs or surgery, or you want your body to perform at its peak, reduce injuries and age more gracefully, here are five steps to help you move better today—and for the rest of your life.

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  • Remove interferences to healthy movement. Energy from your brain travels over nerves, and controls every function in your body, including movement. The spine surrounds these nerves.  When the spine is misaligned you can’t move as well. The joints don’t move smoothly and can become sore. More importantly, if the misalignment is more pronounced, it can cause the nearby nerves to be compressed and irritated. This condition, known as vertebral subluxation, is very serious. Irritated nerves cannot carry energy properly, so muscles that depend upon this energy to function well cannot work properly either. They can go into spasm, or weaken, and distort good posture and effective, smooth movements. From newborns to senior citizens and everyone in between, I have 33 years of clinical experience determining if nerves are irritated and if so, their location, severity and correction. I do this through a variety of highly effective chiropractic adjusting techniques, including those that are FDA cleared and involve absolutely no twisting, “popping or cracking” of the spinal joints. Numerous research studies confirm chiropractic care is more clinically effective and cost effective than medical care. In its most current study, Consumer Reports rated chiropractic care highest in patient satisfaction for treatment of back pain compared to medicine, physical therapy and acupuncture.
  • Reduce unnecessary physical stress. This improves movement, and over the long haul will reduce the likelihood of arthritis and premature decay. Sitting is the most stressful position on the spine, so sit upright with a good curve in your lower back. Gentlemen, take the wallet out of your back pocket. When you sit, it can push hip bones out of alignment and take other joints of your body out with them. Split and carry your cash/credit cards in your front pockets. Ladies who wear high heels consistently can do long-term damage to their joints, muscles and nerves. Jacking up the heel abnormally affects your body’s weight distribution and gait cycle. I recommend ladies wear flat shoes consistently that have a two inch heel or less. They may be less fashionable, but you’ll feel and move much better. Lose excess weight! Just imagine how you would move if you strapped two or three bowling balls to your body and had to go through your day.  It would be tough for you to move, and in addition to being exhausted you’d probably be very sore. We have a terrific program to jump start yourself to eating healthier and losing unhealthy weight. If you are like most people who followed my Doctor Supervised ChiroThin Weight Loss Program, you’ll lose the equivalent weight of about two to three bowling balls, or 20-35 pounds of fat, in approximately six weeks with no exercise, drugs, prepackaged foods, shakes or bars. In addition to feeling and looking better, you’ll move better with much less effort.
  • Eat well to move well. Limit your intake of inflammatory foods that can be very irritating to your joints and muscles. If you have suffered joint pain and want a scientific approach to eating better, schedule a nutritional consultation to determine the stressors in your diet that wreck your body’s chemistry and can cause sore joints and muscles.  We make personalized recommendations on the foods and supplements that work best for your chemistry — without guesswork — to get you moving better and keep  you  that way.
  • Improve your emotional state. If you are anxious, depressed or emotionally burdened, and want to avoid mood altering drugs, consider having a Reiki session with certified Reiki master Heidi Scanlon. Using methods that are 2,500 years old, Scanlon can help you ease the emotional burdens that can create imbalances in your body’s energy. These imbalances can create pain and undermine your ability move well and enjoy greater peace of mind. Her clients report that her care enables them to feel “lighter in spirit, calmer,” and “have less pain and move better.”
  • Exercise! Perform activities within your tolerances. If you are not sure, have a checkup with your doctor. Mix it up.  Join a gym, enjoy the parks, take a dance class, play a sport, walk. Use it or lose it. Regular exercise will prevent you from feeling rusted and stuck like the Tin Man after a rainstorm.  By following these recommendations, you’ll have the best chances of living independently, working, playing and enjoying a longer and more fulfilling life without limits.

For more information, or to consult with Dr. Ken Freedman, or Heidi Scanlon at no cost or obligation, you may contact them at (732) 254-6011, or email Ken@FreedmanChiropracticCenter.com, or Heidi@FreedmanChiropracticCenter.com.

Freedman Chiropractic Center is located at Brier Hill Court D-6, East Brunswick.

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