It’s common for a person to experience back pain from time to time. This is most especially true for the majority of Americans who are living a sedentary lifestyle. The lack of activity undoubtedly causes a negative impact not only on their spine, but also on their overall health and wellness.
Even if there are spine injuries and conditions, such as scoliosis and degenerative disc disease, that require orthopedic medical treatment, we can all still benefit from some practical and easy steps that you can use to maintain a healthy spine, manage back pain, and even avoid pain. Spine Center of Texas has listed some of them in today’s blog post.
- Follow a regular exercise regimen – A safe and consistent exercise routine can serve as your best defense against back pain and related injuries. Strength-training activities can help strengthen your back and core muscles, which are important to your spine’s overall support and stability.
- Keep a healthy weight – Maintaining a healthy weight goes a long way when it comes to lower back pain management. You can alleviate some of your current back problems by shedding those excess pounds. This is true, because people who are obese experience a shift in their center of gravity that leads to chronic lower back pain.
- Maintain good posture – Remember your mom and your teachers always telling you to sit up straight? Your spine health can be greatly affected by how you sit, how you position yourself when you sleep, and even the type of chair you use. Make sure to pick a chair that offers enough lower back support and keeps your knees in a parallel or slightly higher position than your hips. You can opt to use a pillow or cushion to help support you back. You can also insert a pillow between your knees when sleeping to ease any pressure put on your lower back.
- Stretch – When you’re sitting for long periods of time, always make it a point to take regular breaks and stretch your back muscles.
- Avoid smoking – Not only is smoking bad for your overall health, it can also have a bad effect on your blood circulation. This can lead to flow deprivation in the discs in yourlower spine.
If you’re experiencing chronic back pain, don’t hesitate to contact Spine Center of Texas and schedule an appointment.
