What’s more annoying than joint pain? If you suffer from pain in your hands, elbows, ankles, knees, feet, back, hips or shoulders you have joint pain and you’re not alone. Almost everyone will experience joint pain at some point in their life. Especially as you age. In a national survey, about one-third of adults reported having joint pain within the past 30 days. 

Still, having constant pain anywhere can be a perpetual rock in your shoe. Whether your pain is mildly nagging or severely debilitating, the effect it has on your body and mind can greatly impact the quality of your life. 

Joint pain can and does slow you down. It makes everyday activities feel like a chore. Even worse than the pain are the bad days that try to convince you that life will always feel this way. The mental aspect of chronic pain is not often discussed, but is a risk nonetheless. Not being able to do the things you love or keep up with basic demands at work can be isolating and even lead to depression. 

But, you don’t have to struggle to get out of bed feeling at war with your body. While joint pain can make you dread the simplest tasks from writing grocery lists to taking out the garbage, the bright side is relief is not as hard to get as you might think.

What causes joint pain?

Why are your joints hurting all the time? Any damage to your joints (the connection between your bones) whether from disease or injury can likely be the culprit of your pain. There’s a slew of reasons why your joints may be begging for mercy. Some of the most common causes of joint pain and stiffness include:

-Age: wear and tear doesn’t just apply to furniture. Cartilage surrounding our joints starts to wear down over time causing our bones to rub against each other. And it’s as painful as it sounds.

– Weight: having too much weight on your body can affect your joints, especially your knees, hips and back.

– Previous or acute injuries: injuries to your joints can happen from macro or micro traumas. Macro traumas can be a fall or a car accident, micro can be overuse of a joint or repetitive use of a previous injury. 

-Arthritis: Osteoarthritis, Gout and Rheumatoid arthritis are different types of arthritis commonly associated with causing joint pain. 

Some other surprising causes of joint pain include weather changes, foods high in acid, and most recently, possible long term side effects of having COVID-19.

Joint pain can often come from swelling, stiffness and/or loss of range of motion. Mild pain can feel stiff, achy or sore while moderate to severe pain can feel like burning, throbbing or grating.

Are these activities causing your joint pain?

While we mentioned some common causes of joint pain above, it’s equally true that your pain could be coming from repetitive activities that could be forming a joint injury. Some of these could be:

• Poor habits: This can be anything from sitting for too long a period of time to having poor posture.
• Overexerting: You could be overworking your joints while exercising and not realize it until it’s too late.
• Poor form: Not having correct form, posture or muscle engagement can wear on your ligaments and joints and over time injure your joints, especially while exercising.
• Inactivity: A sedentary lifestyle is equally as bad for the joints (and your health) as overdoing movements.

How chiropractic care can help 

Chiropractic care is a natural, non-invasive approach to joint pain relief. It can help optimize the function of your joints, improve your mobility, and give you immediate pain relief without the nasty side effects of invasive shots or prescription drugs. But, how?

Chiropractic care sees joints as part of a larger system that is deeply interconnected. When the spinal column is properly adjusted, it releases pressure that may be building up on other joints or nerves in your system. This will help prevent other parts of your body from succumbing to joint pain. Sometimes fixing misalignment in the spine is enough to relieve your joint pain. Other times, you might need adjustments to specific joints. We can adjust your neck, wrists, ankles, knees, elbows and shoulders giving you almost instant relief and improved mobility in that particular joint.

At Petett Chiropractic, we know we can help you get your life back and say adios to joint pain! No matter the cause, we will customize a treatment plan and give you the tools your body needs to heal quickly and naturally. We can’t stress enough the amazing benefits of chiropractic care as a natural remedy to suppress joint pain. 

If you’re experiencing joint pain and stiffness, we’re here to help. Contact us today to schedule an appointment, and start getting back to doing the things you love without pain!