In a recent study, researchers found that patients who have recurrent or ongoing pain after lumbar spine surgery may seek out a therapy called spinal manipulation, which targets the joints of the spine. The study, published in Chiropractic & Manual Therapies, found that those providing spinal manipulation for these patients typically use gentle techniques.

It’s good, of course, to keep all your muscles strong and limber. But the strength of the body’s core — the muscles in your belly and mid- and lower back — is one of the keys to long term health and stability as you grow older.

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:

Managing the stress in your life — and most of us experience stress to one degree or another — is essential to keeping a healthy lifestyle. Stress comes from many directions and makes itself known in a variety of ways. It might manifest as a headache, tight muscles, nausea or back pain.

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. Frozen shoulder can be brought on by the trauma of a fall or car accident, or it may come on gradually as a result of muscle imbalance, overuse and irritation.

As with 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?”

You don’t have to be a professional athlete to benefit from the regular care of a chiropractor. But even if you are just a weekend warrior on the tennis court, softball field, or golf course, you should know that professional athletes make chiropractic treatment a regular part of their training and care. National Football league and Major league Baseball teams have long kept doctors of chiropractic on their medical staffs. And individual athletes as diverse as golfers, tennis players and rodeo riders get regular chiropractic treatment to hone their performances. The U.S.

You don’t have to be an ironworker to be at risk for back injury on your job. Every occupation, however physically undemanding it may seem, carries the potential for back injury. Even office work can pose problems. A physically intense job might put a person at greater risk for a serious accident, but the sedentary practice of sitting at a desk all day brings its own set of physical concerns.

Only a licensed chiropractor — a doctor of chiropractic, or DC — should perform chiropractic adjustments. In all 50 states and the district of Columbia, chiropractors must be an accredited DC and pass special state exams, exams administered by the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners, or both, to practice.

In order to become a DC, you have to complete on average three years of undergraduate instruction to be admitted to a program and then four years of training to graduate as a DC.