We are living longer and, if you play your cards right and have taken care of yourself, this is a wonderful thing. Good genes certainly help, but healthy lifestyle practices are just as important in continuing to live a productive life. Here are some tips the American Chiropractic Association recommends for aging with grace and health:

Walking may be, pound for pound, the most accessible, beneficial and inexpensive form of exercise available. The American Chiropractic Association recommends it as a way to stay fit.

‘Frozen shoulder’ is a term sometimes used loosely in connection with any type of persistent shoulder pain. But specifically it is the loss of arm movement at the shoulder joint. The shoulder is the part of the body that is the third most common subject for chiropractic treatment, the lower back and the neck being the two most common.

Regarding many forms of health care, people will sometimes ask: "If I’m feeling good, why do I need it?" In terms of chiropractic treatment, one answer could be, “Are you feeling the best you could be? Are you reaching maximum capacity?"

A chiropractic exam is a pain- and stress-free procedure that will ultimately provide you with a boost in your quality of life. Through the exam, a chiropractor will be able to determine what steps to take to either correct a problem or to maintain a healthy condition.

The doctor will check the range of motion for various joints, including the neck. How far you can turn your head to the left and right can indicate whether you have a subluxation — the technical term for a misalignment of bones — in your spine. The chiropractor may also examine your spine by palpation — by touch.

Like any other body part, the spine is subject to the wear and tear of daily life and can show signs of aging. Particularly susceptible to injury are the discs that cushion the individual vertebra that make up the spine, and through which the spinal cord passes.

A car accident or other serious trauma, like a fall, are likely causes of back pain. But the pain can develop from a variety of sources that are not quite so obvious. Here are a few of the conditions that can play a role in creating back pain:

A new study shows that reducing daily sitting prevented back pain from worsening over six months. The result strengthens the current understanding of the link between activity and back pain as well as the mechanisms related to back pain.

A new study published in JAMA Network Open experts found the use of gabapentinoids — medicines widely used to treat neuropathic pain — increased the risk of hip fractures, especially in older patients who were frail or had kidney disease. Often seen as a safer alternative to opioids, the gabapentinoid drugs gabapentin and pregabalin are antiepileptic drugs that are considered as first-line treatments for the management of neuropathic pain.

Osteoarthritis is the degeneration of joint cartilage and the underlying bone. It’s the most common chronic condition of the joints and is estimated to affect some 27 million Americans. It’s sometimes referred to as “wear and tear” arthritis.