Joint pain can occur at any age, however, many of us find that after 40 we start to feel aches and pains that we never felt in our 20’s and 30’s. Joint pain tends to catch up to us as we age. It could stem from car accidents, our diets, youth sports, or from walking around with poor posture for years. Just because you may be currently experiencing joint pain doesn’t mean that you have to live with it forever. The first thing to look at is if there any trauma such as a car accident or fall that could be contributing or causing this pain. As mentioned, joint pain can develop over time and very often injuries are not immediately obvious. By visiting pain management or chiropractic physician that specializes in trauma induced pain they will be able to accurately determine the causes and set you up on the right treatment plan. Another contributing factor to joint pain is daily activity; how much we move throughout the day? Most Americans tend to be sedentary; are you moving your joints everyday? Are you working your muscles, tendons and ligaments? The human body is designed so that our muscles are attached in such a way that it holds the joints in proper alignment. Muscle imbalance can make joints shift and lock. When this happen and we keep moving but the joint stays stuck. This can lead to joint degeneration or a constant joint pain. Lastly, it’s time to take a look at our diets and the nutrients that we are, or are not, putting into our bodies. Countless research shows us that eating a plant based diet will not only stave off arthritis and disease it can eliminate it all together. When we eat our pizza, burgers and fries, cookies, etc…. we are not only limiting the amount of vitamins, minerals, and phyto-chemicals that our body needs and craves but we are increasing the bodies overall inflammation. The more inflamed we are on a daily basis the more you will feel overall “joint” pain. Think of a small fire that is slowly burning down your house, everyday that fire is allowed to burn the less house you have.