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Avoid Becoming a Grim Statistic with This Simple, Daily Routine

When it comes to good health, we Americans have become more and more aloof and less and less fit over the last several decades. I have said this numerous times in seminars and lectures that I have given, and today I give you some statistics to back up that claim. The numbers may startle you. It is my hope that they challenge you to make whatever changes are necessary for you to turn the tide of our current disease-and-sickness course toward the Health and Wellness Paradigm. That can all start, easily enough, with a simple routine that you can do in one minute every morning and every evening.

Some Eye-Popping Statistics for Your Review

First: 70% of adults in America have been diagnosed with at least one chronic disease. For children, the number is 54%. That’s more than half, which should open everyone’s eyes.

Second: the most common reason for Americans to access a doctor is pain.

Pain affects more Americans than diabetes, heart disease, and cancer combined. That’s right: all three of those debilitating and deadly diseases don’t exceed the sum of pain we are in. Meanwhile, in our typical “health care delivery system,” pain is considered one of the deadliest symptoms for which an individual can consult a conventional “health care provider.” The reason: pain medication. One of the ultimate treatments for pain is often a portal to addiction and death.

Third, 96% of 80-year-olds have significant spinal degeneration. This is primarily due to poor “spinal hygiene,” which is the set of practices associated with preserving and maintaining spinal health. The percentages carry through to every generation below that as well. 85% of 50-year-olds have significant spinal degeneration and, believe it or not, 37% of 20-year-olds and 9% of 10-year-old children have it as well. That final one is certainly an amazing statistic. The CDC estimates that by 2050 these numbers will double.

The Cause

To what is all of this attributed? I break the causes down into the following:

First and foremost is a sedentary lifestyle. As you know, most individuals today sit at a computer to work. This lifestyle actually leads us to the second cause of this problem: not moving your body, also known as a lack of gross motion. As I have noted in my book, Dr. Pfeiffer’s Guide to a Longer Healthier Life, and in many of my lectures, movement is critical to your overall health and wellness. 

The third thing that contributes to pain is poor posture. Postural changes, particularly for those working in a sedentary position for most of the day, causes what I call “caving in.” This means that you begin to lean forward, which causes the muscles in the front of your body to contract over time and for the muscles in the back of your body to weaken and stretch out.

Another postural change that occurs when you look at a computer screen all day is that you tend to tilt your head forward. This leads to what is referred to as a “forward head carriage.” The normal head weighs around 12 pounds. With just a 2-inch forward head carriage, you increase the force on the muscles and joints in the neck and upper back to 32 pounds of pressure. Add 1 more inch to 3 inches of forward head carriage, and you increase that stressful force to 42! This causes chronic neck and upper back pain, which can progress into fixated or locked joints in the neck and upper back. If these fixations are not addressed, they can quickly cause a break down of the joint, which results in arthritic change known as degenerative joint disease in the spine.

The Solution

The only way to correct this fixated joint issue is through spinal adjustments or manipulation. You see, exercise, as I have noted, is vitally important to maintain gross motion and mobility of the spine. However, the limited motion caused by joints which are fixated or locked in a position can only be accomplished through specific spinal adjustments through a licensed chiropractor. Once the locking or fixation of the joint is reduced, then we can assure that motion of the joints is maintained through exercise and periodic checks.

Think about this process as similar to having your teeth cleaned. On your own, you floss and brush your teeth regularly. However, you also need to periodically have your teeth cleaned and examined by the hygienist and the dentist. The same is true for your spine. First, you must exercise and maintain proper posture. However, you must also have your spine checked periodically for fixated or locking of joints, joints which ultimately–like teeth that get cavities–will end up developing into arthritic or degenerated discs.


Doris.jpgClick here to read Doris Stover’s story of how a chiropractic checkup helped her acheive some mobility even after years of decline.




Thus, I encourage everyone to do following maneuver twice each day. It literally takes one minute, and it puts your spine through a full range of motion.

Here is your quick, one-minute exercise that you can do each morning and every evening.

Important: be certain your balance is sufficient to be able to do the exercise in a standing posture before beginning this or any other standing exercise. If you have balance issues, you must not attempt these exercises while standing.

  • Stand up straight and then bend over forward as far as you can comfortably. Hold this flexed position while you count to 10 ("one 1 thousand, two 1 thousand, "and so on).
  • After counting, come back up to an erect posture.
  • Now lean back as far as you can comfortably. Repeat the same 10 count.
  • After counting, come back up to an erect position.
  • Slide your right arm down the outer aspect of your right leg. Once again hold for a 10 count.
  • Repeat this to the left.
  • Come back up to the erect position.
  • Next rotate your entire torso to the right, hold for 10.
  • Repeat to the left.
  • You're done.

The above routine is an example of how a tiny investment can potentially protect you from pain, guiding you toward a Longer, Healthier Life.

Stay tuned for more interesting, previously unknown statistics that may further challenge you to take control of your own good health.