Movement is Medicine

Health is not only about your weight, blood pressure, or lab results.

It is also about what your body can do.

Can you walk without getting tired?
Can you get off the floor?
Can you carry groceries?
Can you play with your children or grandchildren?
Can you stay active without pain stopping you?

Your ability to move is closely tied to your health, strength, and independence.

That is why I believe: Movement Is Medicine

Strength Can Tell Us a Lot About Health

In one large study of nearly 140,000 people, grip strength was a stronger predictor of death than systolic blood pressure.

A one-standard-deviation drop in grip strength was linked to a 37% higher risk of death.

A similar increase in systolic blood pressure was linked to a 15% higher risk of death. [1]

Activity Can Lower the Risk of Disease

In the Diabetes Prevention Program, people at high risk for type 2 diabetes were placed into different groups.

Metformin lowered the risk of diabetes by 31%.

A lifestyle program that included regular activity, healthier eating, coaching, and weight loss lowered the risk by 58%. [2]

Exercise Can Help Protect Independence

Falls are one of the biggest threats to health and independence as people get older.

A large review of more than 100 studies found that exercise programs lowered the rate of falls by 23% in older adults. [3]

Programs that worked on balance, strength, and daily movement were especially helpful.

The goal is not only to live longer.

The goal is to keep walking, driving, working, traveling, and doing the things you enjoy.

Pain Can Start a Harmful Cycle

Pain can make you move less.

Moving less can lead to:

• Lower strength

• Worse balance

• Less endurance

• More stiffness

• Less confidence

• Greater fear of activity

This can create a cycle:

Pain limits movement.

Less movement lowers strength and fitness.

Lower strength makes movement harder.

The goal is to break that cycle before it becomes your new normal.

How Move Ability Chiropractic Can Help

At Move Ability Chiropractic, the goal is not only to reduce pain.

The goal is to help you move better, become more active, and feel more confident in your body.

Care may include:

• Chiropractic treatment

• Soft-tissue work

• Mobility and stretching

• Strength testing

• Balance testing

• Exercise guidance

• Personal movement plans

• Progress tracking

• Support and accountability

Strength and mobility testing can help show where you are starting and where you may have room to improve.

A personal plan can help you know what to work on instead of guessing.

You do not need to become an athlete.

You do not need a perfect workout plan.

You need a body that is strong and capable enough to support the life you want to live.

Movement Is Medicine.

References

1. Leong DP, et al. Prognostic Value of Grip Strength: Findings From the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology Study. The Lancet. 2015. PMID: 25982160

2. Knowler WC, et al. Reduction in the Incidence of Type 2 Diabetes With Lifestyle Intervention or Metformin. New England Journal of Medicine. 2002. PMID: 11832527

3. Sherrington C, et al. Exercise for Preventing Falls in Older People Living in the Community. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2019. PMID: 31792067

4. Pocovi NC, et al. Effectiveness and Cost-Effectiveness of an Individualised, Progressive Walking and Education Intervention for the Prevention of Low Back Pain Recurrence. The Lancet. 2024. PMID: 38908392