Chiropractors Urge Walking for Better Health

A health minded program, "America on the Move" seems to fit the Chiropractic model of wellness. From an April 9, 2004 release on PRNewswire, the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) urges people to take an extra 2000 steps per day. America on the Move is a national initiative dedicated to helping individuals and communities make positive changes to improve their health and quality of life.

To assist in this program chiropractors are urging people to take some simple additional steps each day. Dr. George McClelland, a chiropractor and member of ACA's Wellness Committee, explains that, "Adding a short walk to your lunchtime schedule, coupled with taking the stairs at work rather than the elevator, could add up to 2,000 additional steps for many of us. And cutting just one can of soda from your day and replacing it with water can eliminate more than 100 calories."

According to Dr. McClelland, "Many health care providers are now beginning to talk with their patients about healthy lifestyles -- an approach doctors of chiropractic have taken for many years. It's simply not good enough to wait until someone gets sick to start thinking about making them well. As we've seen, that model of health care is just not working."

The article notes that the easiest way to keep track of your extra 2,000 steps is to get your hands on a pedometer, a small device that can count the number of steps you take. It just might be the best 10 dollars you'll ever spend.