Joint health is important to living a good life and that includes healthy aging. In 2013, National Chiropractic Health Month (NCHM), celebrated in October, looks at the importance of joint health at all stages of life and what people can do to keep their joints functioning properly.

The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) is emphasizing joint health because joints are critical to all movement and allow us to carry out normal activities of daily living. Some 150 million to 200 million cases of back pain send people to the doctor every year -- and many of those are related to joint injuries. The bones that make up the joint allow movement, but it is the muscles that pull the bones that produce the movement.

The movements that you perform on a daily basis are critical to long-term joint health, as are proper nutrition, a healthy exercise regimen, and a healthy lifestyle. Moving a joint through its full range of motion serves several important purposes. Joints are not supplied directly with blood as are other organs within the body, but instead are nourished with synovial fluid that is forced into the joint cartilage through pressure resulting from body movement. So the saying, "Use it or lose it" applies to joint function.

 Read this article to learn more about protecting and enhancing your joint health, and Get Vertical as often as you can! Then, take the Joint Injury Prevention quiz.   

Lack of time is the reason most people give for not exercising regularly-and we are paying the price of becoming a sit-down, slow-down nation. A 14-year study of 123,216 people demonstrated that a sedentary lifestyle reduces energy and increases a variety of health problems. Sitting also suppresses hormones affecting our triglycerides, cholesterol, and other heart disease markers. Worst of all, sitting too much shortens our lifespans.1

Now that sitting is being called "the new smoking," many Americans are considering options for "getting vertical". Some use a "stand desk" instead of a traditional "sit desk." Stand desk users say their legs and feet get tired at first, but their bodies adapt. For those with a tendency toward developing varicose veins or certain other lower-extremity problems, however, a stand desk may not be the answer. Besides, even if standing is better overall than sitting, it's still not moving. And moving is what the body craves. Read the rest of the article 

Inflammation can be good or bad. When it's good, it's a natural response by the body to a cut, for example. The immune system sends white blood cells and other substances to the site of the injury to get the healing process going.

Not all injuries to the body are as obvious as a cut finger, though. A sedentary lifestyle can contribute to chronic inflammation, as well as stress. Our genes can increase the likelihood of chronic inflammation. So can exposure to a variety of toxins, including secondhand tobacco smoke. A wide variety of causes can bring about chronic-and invisible-inflammation. Read more here.    

While Healthcare Savings Accounts (HSAs) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) are very different, they achieve the same result: reducing your taxable income while boosting your spending power on healthcare essentials. Both plans withhold pre-tax dollars from your paycheck to pay for qualified health care expenses; however, the difference between the two is that FSA is a spending account - "use it or lose it" in the same year the money is set aside - and HSA is a savings account, available when you need it, whether now or many years from now.

Even with the IRS's recent changes to its list of qualified medical expenses, the good news is that chiropractic care is still covered. Be sure to use your 2013 FSA benefits before the end of the year so you don't lose them.

If your goal is to lose body fat, you probably already know that exercise can help. Since the 1980's, the fitness industry has beaten the fat-burning concept to death. They talk about it, write about it and market it as if it's the only thing that ever mattered.

Unfortunately the concept of burning fat has kept Americans misguided for decades now. The dirty little secret when it comes to burning fat is that it just doesn't matter. Yes, it's true. The fitness industry had taken consumers down a long complicated path that has not led to the promised land.

How It Started

In the 1980s health officials began noticing a growing trend of obesity. In response to this trend, the government set national health objectives aimed at reducing the incidence of obesity.

With these health objectives firmly in place, the fitness industry made its move. Marketers from every major manufacturer jumped on the bandwagon and started designing fat-burning equipment, programs and devices. All this stuff was designed to help America burn fat and lose weight.

A Flawed Concept

Technically speaking, our bodies burn fat all day, every day. In fact there's never a time that we aren't burning fat. Our bodies meet their need for energy by burning both fat and carbohydrate throughout the day. As we become more active, our bodies burn more fat and carbohydrate to support the need for more energy.

The major flaw with the fat-burning concept is that it ignores science. The laws of physics tell us that our bodyweight is a function of both calories in and calories out. To lose weight, you must create a calorie shortage. Scientists call this a negative energy balance. Without achieving a negative energy balance, it doesn't matter how much fat you burn, you will never lose weight.

Get Some Help

MEDFITNESS specializes in personal training programs that don't require expensive appointments. These full-body workouts burn calories and build muscle safely and efficiently. To experience their trademarked workout, schedule a Free TrialWorkout by calling (630) 762-1784.

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He has been involved with chiropractic almost since he was born -- he was adjusted as an infant by his uncle, a chiropractor in Wisconsin where Dr. Hertz grew up.

Dr. Hertz uses a number of gentle and safe chiropractic techniques for adjusting the spine including Diversified, Activator, and Drop Table. He is also Nationally Board Certified in Physiotherapy and uses exercise and rehabilitation to help patients heal faster and reach optimum health.  

St. Charles Pain & Wellness Center also offers nutritional aids for those who seek to supplement their diet and improve their health, which have proved successful in preventing unnecessary surgeries for many patients.