Men are notorious for taking their health for granted. Many men assume that if they look good, feel healthy and are strong, that they’re in good overall health. They tend to ignore symptoms of poor health and skip those annual doctor’s visits. But men have particular health issues that they should be mindful of, including issues related to injury and illness.
This month, we’re going to be examining issues of men’s health issues with a focus on how chiropractic care can help men feel better and more empowered with their health care choices. Keep reading!
As boys grow into teens, young adults, mature men and then seniors, like women, they can expect their health issues to surface with each transition in age. Men also may be harder on their bodies, paying little notice to the pains and problems in earlier ages until they show up as more severe or chronic problems, in their advancing years.
We’re going to discuss some of these transitional ages for men, and the conditions that are common with these transitions.
The first is the transition from teens into young adulthood. The rapid hormone acceleration has stopped and a man’s body frame has fully developed. For some men, this also means less activity and exercise – they may have played a team sport as a teenager and now, no longer do so. But for other men, this is the moment when they can re-define their body and shape it according to their preference. If they were heavier as a teen, this may be the time when they begin developing healthier eating and exercise choices. Or, if a young man is very slender and wants to become stronger, shapelier, they might opt for a fitness routine that involves weight-lifting and mass-building.
This transition is centered around the ideals and images that young men see projected toward them from the world. From marketing, to societal pressures, young men often want to be seen as capable, strong and rugged. While this can impact their body – encouraging them to bulk up and become more defined – it also can affect their emotional state. This alignment with a more rugged, stronger mindset sometimes means that men fail to become proactive with their health. They don’t see their physician regularly, and when they do go to a doctor, they might not mention some of the signs that they could be in poor shape or health.
Chiropractic care can help ease this transition for young men, by providing a holistic mind/body/spirit understanding of the functions of our lives. When a man receives chiropractic treatment, during their 20s and 30s, for small aches and pains, it can help them understand the way that their body has formed, what kind of behaviors might trigger other symptoms and how to prevent them. Chiropractors often work at the referral of M.D.’s (or may refer a patient to another doctor) and can help young men learn the language to use when addressing their symptoms and concerns.
