There’s Top chef, Iron chef, Next Great Baker & BBQ Pit Masters and plenty of other TV shows and an entire network dedicated to food & cooking. As a Marietta chiropractor I’ve come across some people who hate cooking and there are many who I’ve met that really find this is a very enjoyable hobby and activity. Whether cooking for themselves or a family of 5, if the person who does most of the cooking in the house gets injured in a car accident,  back pain can disrupt the household flow and sneakily add unwanted pounds to everyone in the house.

One of the common complaints I hear from patients who are victims in an accident is focused around the pain experienced while standing. The types of back pain produced following an accident can vary from minor muscle spasm to disc problems that cause numbness and tingling down the legs. The discomfort can start in as little as 5 minutes after standing and may not go away for hours (even after sitting down). Imagine the everyday tasks you do that would be avoided if your back went into spasm while you stood up for more than 5 minutes. Now imagine the everyday tasks you do that cannot be…

The back pain from standing can increase if you are not able to move or walk around while standing. Combining a sedentary lifestyle with poor eating habits because you avoid the back pain felt while you stand can have long lasting effects. Activities like playing with kids, household chores or mowing the lawn may all change.

Commonly, meal preparations can take as long as an hour when cooking for a family. Weight gain can sneak its way into your waistline if you start to avoid preparing home cooked meals and eat more fast foods and take out because it’s a) easier and b) you can avoid pain.

Some major pitfalls to notice when it comes to not eating homecooked meals are the following:

• higher calories
• lower nutritional value
• larger serving size & over consumption
• increased diabetic
• higher obesity risk

If prepared at home it also saves you money and probably taste much better too. Often when foods are cooked at home the person cooking may use healthier alternatives to make the food…such as using ground turkey as opposed to ground beef for certain meals.

Not preparing home cooked meals because of pain felt after being injured in an auto accident falls under a classification called “loss of enjoyment”. This change in daily activity must be documented by your personal injury chiropractor as you go through your chiropractic rehab.