The spine has an incredible job – to protect the body’s nervous system. The nervous system interacts with nearly every part of your body, which makes a healthy spine and back paramount to both everyday human activity and survival. The spine controls movement and the spinal cord controls every function of every cell in the body. Take precautions and follows these tips for maintaining a healthy spine and back – your whole body will thank you for it.
Healthy Spine and Back Tips
- Get a Good Night’s Sleep – In addition to a healthy spine and back, sleep is good for your overall health and well being. Sleep allows your body to repair itself. Be sure not to sleep on your stomach, as it puts too much pressure on your spine.
Stay Hydrated – Drinking water and staying hydrated helps maintain the elasticity of soft tissue and fluid in the joints. Spinal disc are susceptible to loss of hydration, which can cause them to shrink and make you more likely to have painful disc conditions, such as bulging or rupturing.
- Exercise and Stay Active – Keeping your body active helps maintain the health of your spine, whether working out at the gym regularly or playing with your kids. The best exercises combine stretching, strengthening and aerobic activity. An added benefit of exercising and staying active is maintaining proper weight or losing weight, which removes stress from your spine and lower back.
- Setup Your Workspace for Proper Ergonomics – Many people spend the majority of their time at work sitting at a computer and when not set up with the proper ergonomics can result in stress on the upper and lower back. Set up workspace for your height. Choose a chair that provides back support. Don’t sit for long periods and consider a standup desk.
- Use Your Legs – We’ve all heard it before, but it’s worth reiterating. It’s very easy to twist the wrong way and damage your spine when improperly lifting an object. Stand close to the item you’re lifting, use your legs rather than your back or upper body to pull the item up. For a happy and healthy spine, get someone to help you lift items that are too heavy to lift yourself.
At Pangea Chircopractic, we promote healthy spine health as well as overall health and wellness. If you’re experiencing back or neck pain, contact Pangea Chiropractic. We’re your Bend OR chiropractor.