Is chiropractic treatment good for arthritis? That’s an excellent question that most people really don’t understand. So, let’s explore the topic. In this article we’re primarily talking about the wear and tear arthritis called osteoarthritis or degenerative joint disease (DJD).

Even WebMD says that chiropractic treatment may be able to address the cause of osteoarthritis. 

Osteoarthritis or Degenerative Joint Disease is by far the most common form of arthritis. You could even say that given enough time almost everyone will experience it. But, you have great control over when and to what degree it develops. 

Osteoarthritis is caused by mechanical imbalances over time. There is no reversing this condition but there are different degrees of dysfunction. Restoring movement and function to as close to normal is the only logical path. 

Much of the osteoarthritis is completely preventable. And, even if you find yourself experiencing it there is still much that can be done to slow the progression and offer you significant relief. 

The joints most often affected are the knees, hips, and spine. Let’s explore some of the reasons for its development. 

Here’s an analogy…

Let’s put brand new tires on your vehicle but we won’t balance the tires or align the front end. Do you think you will get the mileage out of those tires that they are warranted for? Absolutely not!

But if you look at them at 100 miles, 500 miles, maybe even 1000 miles you’d be hard pressed to see the excess wear even though the uneven wear started at mile #1. 

What Causes Joints to Become Arthritic?

Just like those tires joints will experience accelerated “wear and tear” if they bear excess stress or force. What causes that excess stress? Let’s look at what joints do and what might put them under additional stress.

Trauma can certainly play a part but the impact of trauma is often experienced many years after the trauma. It’s much more about what the trauma caused. 

Just like in the car analogy above imbalance in your structure and joint mobility adds stress to the joints and instead of many miles later, it’s many years later that the wear and tear shows up. 

Any alteration in the forces that the joints encounter puts excess and uneven stress on the joints. Over time, usually a period of 10 or more years, the joints start to show demonstrable excess wear. This is easily seen on x-rays. 

Here are a few common examples that I’ve seen in the past week alone:

• Restricted Pelvic Sacroiliac Joints – when the pelvis does not move properly with each step it puts added stress on the SI joint that is moving, the hip joints below, and the lumbar spine above. All of these joints will start to wear out faster. 
• Restricted Hip Joints – you use your hips with every single step you take, many thousands of times each day. Even a slight restriction will alter your gait and put additional stress on one hip more than the other. This altered gait also passes the forces up into the pelvis which then has to work harder to dissipate the force. 
• Restriction in the Spine – if we are talking lower back, pelvis, and hips the key areas are the very bottom of the spine called the lumbosacral joints, and the junction of the thoracic and lumbar spine called the thoracolumbar junction. If the thoracolumbar area locks up it causes a reactive restriction in the pelvis and the whole area is exposed to altered and increased stress. 

Chiropractic Treatment

What does Chiropractic do?

You will find chiropractors who do all sorts of things so it’s always best to be really clear what you are looking for and do your research. You want a chiropractor whose focus is on balancing and corrective care, someone who will personalize your care visit to visit. It’s rarely the joint that hurts that needs the most care, that’s simply the joint that’s been forced to work too hard for too long. 

Chiropractors focus on identifying spinal subluxations. What are those? Those are the spinal joints that are out of balance, restricted, or malpositioned. By identifying the subluxations a chiropractor is able to focus the adjustments on those joints each visit. 

Adjusting or correcting the subluxations helps to bring the spine and pelvis back into a state of balance of alignment and movement of the joints. Restoring movement reduces the stress on the joints. When joints move they express less pain than more restricted joints.

The combination of restoring balance so that the pelvis is level and restoring healthy mobility to the joints of the hips, pelvis, and spine has a significant impact on arthritis:

• Reduces pain, especially as that movement is maintained.
• Slows the advancement of the arthritis
• Allows greater ability to freely navigate life

Home Test

Are you curious about whether chiropractic might help you? Only an exam and possible x-rays will say for sure but you can get an idea of whether you are imbalanced right now. Try these:

• Pelvis Balance: have someone help you by getting behind you while you stand on both feet equally, preferably in front of a full length mirror.  Have them put a hand on top of each side of your pelvis, the area we often refer to as our hips. 

Is one side of the pelvis higher than the other?

Is one shoulder higher than the other?

Looking at the bottom of your ear lobes or the corner of your eyes is your head unlevel?

• Pelvis Motion: Stand with a hand gently resting on the wall. Lift one knee up to waist height as you slowly march in place. Notice what it feels like. Now do the same with the other leg. Do you notice a difference? Is lifting one leg easier or smoother than the other? Do you notice one side of your pelvis shifting up or over when you lift a leg?
• Cervical Motion: Do these motions with your head and neck while standing. Notice any tightness, discomfort, or pain with the motion. Is there a difference side to side? 
  • Turn your head as far to the right without forcing it. Do the same to the left. Is one side more restricted than the other? Can you easily see behind your shoulder on each side?
• Bend your forward to look at the floor. While bent forward, turn to the right and then to the left. Does your chin easily meet your chest? Do you feel any tightness, pulling, pain or discomfort in the back of your neck?
• Look up to the ceiling. Are you easily able to see the ceiling? Do you feel any restriction, discomfort or pain?
• Lumbar Motion: Notice any level of tightness or pain as you move through these motions.
• Bend forward as far as you can like you are going to touch the floor. Other than some tightness in your hamstrings in the back of your thighs do you feel any tightness, pulling, or pain in the lowback, pelvis, or hips?
• Put your hands on your hips over your back pockets and lean backwards, arching your low back. Do you feel stiffness, restriction, discomfort or pain?

Normal or Average?

In our culture as we age and lose function and mobility and begin to experience symptoms we’ve been led to believe that these are all normal and expected experiences of aging. They are NOT!

These are all common, even typical experiences that are the average experience of someone out of balance. It can start to show up in your 30s or 40s, but for most people by the time they are in their mid 40s to 50s and beyond it is more the rule than the exception. 

That makes this loss of motion, discomfort, and pain due to imbalance and developing arthritis AVERAGE but it is not NORMAL!

This experience is all due to mechanical imbalances that cannot be solved by adding pharmaceutical drugs as the answer. The solution to the mechanical and inflammatory problem of arthritis is mechanical. 

Restore balance and mobility and you take stress off the joints!

Restore balance and mobility and you slow the advancement of degeneration!

Restore balance and mobility and you reduce or eliminate pain!

Restore balance and mobility and your body feels better, more at ease, less tension, and you feel freer and more confident in your daily life!

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