Addressing Obesity Through Chiropractic Care
FEATURE
Dr. Wallace Nelson
Worldwide obesity has nearly doubled since 1980, and almost 70% of American adults are now overweight.1 Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the United States, and the trend isn’t slowing down. It’s setting the stage to become one of the greatest public health crises of the twenty-first century. In a very broken system, more than 25% of healthcare costs are already directly related to obesity. This is a massive amount of money to be spending on a preventable and treatable condition.
You are probably well aware that excess weight and obesity increase one’s risk of diabetes, heart disease, cancer, depression, and a number of other conditions. The detrimental effects of obesity are unfortunate but well documented. Obesity affects the whole body, and as such, requires a physician who can offer a holistic method of treatment. Chiropractic physicians are unique in their ability to provide drug-free, nonsurgical treatment options for weight management. With obesity levels skyrocketing, it is especially important that chiropractors offer adequate services to overweight and obese patients.
Obesity-Related Conditions that Cause Patients to Seek Chiropractic Care
Adult obesity causes a variety of uncomfortable conditions that can land a person in a chiropractic office. Most Americans who seek chiropractic care do so for treatment of musculoskeletal disorders that are significantly correlated with obesity. For example, the CDC reports that 31% of obese adults suffer from arthritis, compared to only 16% of the rest of the population.2 Many musculoskeletal diseases develop simply because joints and bones are forced to carry a heavier load. Other musculoskeletal conditions arise because of nutritional deficiencies or inflammation.
Lower back pain is a common chiropractic problem that is more prevalent among patients who are overweight or obese.4
Lumbar lordosis is exacerbated by a protruding stomach, increasing the curvature of the spine and straining the lower back. Constant stress on the spine can lead to a variety of painful conditions (lumbar disc herniation, degenerative disc disease, spinal stenosis, etc.) that require chiropractic care. Obese patients are also at greater risk for neck pain, shoulder pain, and wrist pain than those of a healthy weight.5 While a chiropractic adjustment may mitigate the pain of these conditions in the short term, weight loss may be necessary to prevent a recurrence.
Osteoarthritis is a common inflammatory condition that is positively associated with obesity. Among obese patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA), studies show that the onset of obesity predates the development of OA. Recent studies explain this relationship by suggesting that increased weight contributes to cartilage degeneration, which in turn causes OA symptoms. Because obesity is so strongly correlated with OA, the American College of Rheumatology recommends weight loss and exercise as a part of OA treatment.3
A Holistic Approach to Weight Management
If you do nothing else, a simple adjustment can indirectly help your patients lose weight. Chiropractic adjustments help to increase range of motion and mobility, making physical activity easier and more comfortable for patients. On top of these basic services, chiropractors can offer nutritional support, lifestyle education, and meaningful supplementation to their patients. These types of holistic services will help adjustments hold longer and will alleviate pain in the long term.
Chiropractors can coach patients toward better eating habits, helping them choose the types of anti-inflammatory foods that will reduce their pain (and help them lose weight) in the long term. Nutritionally, you can steer patients toward a plant-based diet rich in dark leafy greens and brightly colored vegetables. Increasing your patients’ vegetable intake will help maximize their nutritional intake while reducing calories. Substituting fresh fruits for sugary desserts will help satisfy your patients’ sugar cravings and improve their health. Replacing red meat with omega-3 rich fish will help reduce inflammation and promote healing. Omega-3 to omega-6 ratios are of particular concern to chiropractors because of inflammatory and anti-inflammatory effects.6
To help patients clean up their diets, chiropractors can provide patients with nutritional information, opportunity, and accountability for choices. As a practitioner, you can provide a framework for patients to make choices while receiving feedback and support. This type of support and encouragement is essential in keeping your patients motivated and excited about living a healthy lifestyle. Because dietary changes may not be adequate on their own, chiropractors may also offer high-quality supplements (multivitamins, fish oil, probiotics, etc.) based on patients’ specific needs.
Chiropractors can provide lifestyle education to patients as well. Through brochures, classes, books, videos, or other mediums, chiropractors can help patients reduce their stress levels, get better quality sleep, and begin an exercise regimen. When it comes to exercise, accountability can help your patients stay on track and stick to their goals. When your patients know that they will have to report their success—or failure—in the next visit, they’ll be much more likely to succeed.
Managing stress is especially important because of its effect on blood sugar regulation and appetite. Managing sleep is similarly important because of the effects of sleep deprivation on appetite and satiation.7 Patients should be advised to
sleep for seven to nine hours each night and then be monitored to ensure that they follow through. Patients should also avoid screen time within two to three hours before bedtime because the blue light emitted by electronic devices can interfere with natural circadian rhythms.
If current trends continue, the problems that we’re seeing now are going to continue to affect an increasingly large portion of the population. What you do as a chiropractor, as well as the services you offer, matters a great deal in the fight against obesity. Chiropractors play a critical role in offering holistic health services that aren’t available elsewhere. It’s up to you to ensure that your patients receive the quality of care that they deserve.
References
1. Finucane MM, Stevens GA, Cowan MJ, Danaei G, LinJK, Paciorek CJ, Singh GM, Gutierrez HR, Lu Y, Bahalim AN, Farzadfar F, Riley LM, Ezzati M. National, regional, and global trends in body-mass index since 1980: systematic analysis of health examination surveys and epidemiological studies with 960 country-years and 9.1 million participants. Hie Lancet. 2011;337(9765):557-567.
2. National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Arthritis related statistics. Division of Adult and Community Health, Health Care and Aging Studies Branch 2006. http.V/www. cdc.gov/arthrilis/dala statistics/arthritis related stats, him
3. Andriacchi TP, Mundermann A. The role of ambulatory mechanics in the initiation and progression of knee osteoarthritis. Current Opinions
in Rheumatology. 2006;18(5):514-518.
4. Altman RD, Hochberg MC, Moskowitz RW, Schnitzer TJ. Recommendations for the medical management of osteoarthritis of the hip and knee: 2000 update. Arthritis Rheumatology. 2000;43:1905-1915.
5. Fanuele JC, Abdu WA, Hanscom B, Weinstein JN. Association between obesity and functional status in patients with spine disease. Spine. 2002;27(3):306-312.
6. Simopoulos AP. The importance of the ratio of omega-6/omega-3 essential fatty acids. Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy. 2002;56(8):365-79.
7. Walker-Bone KE, Palmer KT, Reading I, Cooper C. Soft-tissue rheumatic disorders of the neck and upper limb: prevalence and risk factors. Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism. 2003;33:185-203.
8. Felson DT, Zhang Y, Hannan MT, Anderson J.J. Effects of weight and body mass index on bone mineral density in men and women: the Framingham study. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research. 1993;8(5):567-573.
PDr. Wallace Nelson is the President of Solutions4, a clinical holistic health company based in Salt Lake City, Utah. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Holistic Nutrition and a Naturopathic Doctorate. Wallace is a featured speaker at holistic health conferences, on several radio programs, and in several print publications. Throughout his career at Solutions4, Wallace has overseen the design, production, and implementation ofproducts and programs that are popular in chiropractic offices across the country. Wallace is an active outdoor athlete, and enjoys the mountains of Utah where he lives with hiswife andfive children. You can reach him atwnelsonff,solu4.com or by phone 1-877-817-6074. Please visit http://www.sohtiions4.com/
