It is not necessarily what the cold weather is doing to the body, more what the cold weather environment does to us as people. I can speak on living in Chicago where everyone is out on the lake, enjoying themselves, being active, and then the tundra rolls in, and people are just essentially confined to their homes, apartments, and places of work. Instead of being able to get outside and ride a bike and enjoy the Lakeshore path, we’re back in our apartment, condo, or house and we’re not moving. We get really sedentary. We have our work commitments where we’re sitting and standing. In fact, you should be standing if you’re listening to these podcasts. But the reality is in the winter, throughout the workday and on the weekends, we are mostly sedentary.
Sedentary activity is a micro stress, and micro stresses essentially break us down. Joints get locked up, muscles get weak and lazy. Then we go outside to shovel some snow or be active and joints in the body that should be moving aren’t moving, muscles that should be working and engaging to create stability while we’re moving, aren’t doing their job. When we’re inactive, the muscles that are really important for stability or movement get weak and lazy. Then we start compensating.
We need to be functional to enjoy winter sports and activities which require bending, twisting, and lifting. But when our joints aren’t moving well and the muscles that should be creating stability while we’re moving are weak and lazy from us being inactive due to the cold weather, the next thing you know, we’re throwing our back out and experiencing lower back pain.
Chiropractors can help. We all make better decisions when we’re in a non-stressed environment. So instead of going in to see a chiropractor when you have pain, think about it proactively. Any reputable chiropractor will do an initial detailed consultation, history, orthopedic, neurological exam, and take some X-rays.
In our office we use a four-pronged attack approach to evaluate your spinal and joint health by addressing the following:
Adjustment: Our bread and butter is the adjustment. Adjustments are going to get the joint moving. When the joint moves, it stimulates the disc, and the tissue. We make sure the joint is moving well, which essentially keeps stress and tension off the joint, tissue, and nerve. Unfortunately, adjustments aren’t home runs, kind of like getting in shape in the gym. We need adjustments in rhythm to get that joint moving and keep it moving.
Alignment: Next we check your alignment. Alignment dictates how you physically load the spine. For example, your top bone should be on top of your bottom bone in your lower back with a 40-degree curve, that’s healthy normal. However, due to working in corporate America for 10 years, all of a sudden you have a two-inch shift forward and you have a 50% reduction of your curve. That increases disc pressure. We need to traction that back into alignment so when you are physically upright and loading the spine, exercising, enjoying all those winter sports, you’ve got good weight bearing activity in the spine. That is going to prevent pain and dysfunction.
Muscle Evaluation: Next we have to evaluate all the muscles around the joints or the lumbopelvic spine that should be doing their job to create stability through movement. So, we physically perform an exam to see if we can pick up on any muscle imbalances such as misfiring the hamstring, poor glute activation, and poor diaphragmatic control, which is usually typical of corporate America. Then we will provide exercises and physical therapy to address muscle imbalances.
Muscle Health: Then lastly, importantly, we address muscle health. Muscles that have been damaged from trauma, car accidents or postural stresses get filled up with something called adhesion. Adhesion is like glue in a muscle, doesn’t allow things to move well. So obviously, you need to clean out that adhesion so the joint physically moves well with stability and strength.
If you love to ski, snowboard, and do all those cool things outside in the winter, go see a chiropractor and get your alignment checked. Are your joints in alignment? Are they moving? Is your tissue healthy? Are those muscles engaging and creating stability through movement? If they are, great. And if they’re not, address them proactively so we’re not necessarily going in for pain, we’re going in for function.
