How Nutrition Can Help Your Pain and Inflammation

How Nutrition Can Help Your Pain and Inflammation

Have you been dealing with stiff, achy joints? Do you notice you struggle to keep your energy up at work? You may have a nutrition problem!

Fortunately, at Austin Manual Therapy in Austin, TX, our physical therapists will provide you with all the tools you need to recover from injuries, eat healthier, and live a healthy, pain-free life!

Physical therapists are musculoskeletal experts. This means understanding all components of health and well-being, including proper nutrition. Our team looks at the whole person, meaning we address all aspects of health for optimal results.

At Austin Manual Therapy, our physical therapists will work with you from prevention of injuries to rehabilitation and beyond. Our goals are for you to be your healthiest version of yourself!

If you have been living with pain, dealing with inflammation, and want relief, contact our office today!

What is an unhealthy diet?

There is no perfect diet for everyone. We are all unique with differences in genetics, physical activity, and environment that affect the diet to follow. Unfortunately, the claims about most diets are inaccurate.

Many fad diets may provide short-term results, but they are not based on a lifestyle change towards healthy eating. Because of this, it can become increasingly difficult to maintain those diets.

As soon as the diet ends and you start eating poorly again, you gain the weight back. This is called “yo-yo dieting.” It’s extremely common and harmful to your overall health and well-being.

Some universally agreed-upon inflammatory food types contribute to poor health. These include:

  • Refined and added sugars
  • Refined and processed foods
  • Excessive alcohol consumption
  • Red meats

The only thing that can give you actual long-term results is to make a lifestyle change. Adopting a healthy lifestyle means understanding how your nutrition affects your body over the long term so that you can have a lifetime of improved health.

What is an anti-inflammatory diet?

Food has a significant impact on how your body functions. Eating inflammatory foods will lead to excessive weight gain and systemic (whole-body) inflammation. The worse your diet, the more susceptible you are to developing chronic pain. In addition, your diet affects your energy level, mood, and your ability to recover from injuries and illnesses.

Nutrition plays a crucial role in reviving the health of our joints and muscles and affects our overall ability to function. Your body needs proper nutrients for a healthy recovery. The Mediterranean Diet has consistently been shown to provide the right nutrients for overall health and well-being.

The Mediterranean diet is an example of a nutritionally-sound lifestyle plan mainly consisting of plant-based foods and moderate amounts of dairy, fish, poultry, and red meat. Multiple research studies have linked the Mediterranean diet with overall health, lower body weight, and weight loss.

The most important effects the Mediterranean Diet has on the body include:

  • Anti-inflammation
  • Reduction in harmful fats in the blood
  • Improved gut microbiome, which is linked to improved overall health
  • Protection/assistance in the treatment of cancer
  • Weight loss and maintenance of healthy weight

Nutrition can be challenging to keep up with and follow due to the countless recommendations and stories in the news. Fortunately, at Austin Manual Therapy in Austin, TX our physical therapists offer nutrition counseling as part of our recommendations for optimal recovery and return to an active, healthy life!

How physical therapy can help you feel better

Our physical therapists will start with an injury evaluation and a nutritional assessment to identify all the factors that may be contributing to your pain.

Our examination will consist of a thorough history to understand more about the types of foods you are eating and how nutrition affects your pain and healing.

We need to understand all the demands on the body, including your nutrition, to determine your overall health status.

We will use this information to develop a comprehensive program that includes targeted manual techniques, mobility work, strengthening, and appropriate pain relief techniques for the individual athlete.

In addition, we will educate you and support you through implementing the changes you need to make to your lifestyle.

Your physical therapist will then incorporate nutritional recommendations with our treatments to assist you in a safe return to exercise and a healthier way of living.

Every good therapy program will include nutritional and injury prevention strategies that ensure you stay doing what you love!

Get started today!

Pain and inflammation relief is possible with the help of physical therapy. At Austin Manual Therapy in Austin, TX, our licensed physical therapists can help you recover as quickly as possible so you can get back to living your life without discomfort.

Call us today to get started!

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