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The healthier your spine, the healthier can be your lifestyle. A damaged spine can limit your mobility to the extent that you can get paralyzed, affecting your quality of life. Unfortunately, around 80-90% of the population suffers from back pain at some point in their lives. So do not overlook this essential part of your body and add yourself to the statistics. Take care of your spine to lower your chances of that sad experience of back pain.
Listed below are a few easy-go tips for maintaining a healthy spine. Most of them involve nothing more than a better way of doing your daily activities.
Eat healthy
A healthy diet supports proper spine development and repairs any damage caused to the bone. A nutritious diet improves bone density and reduces the risk of injuries. Eat foods rich in vitamin D, calcium and other nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids, magnesium, potassium, riboflavin, vitamin K, phosphorous and proteins. Sources include fish, milk, eggs, spinach, yoghurt, etc.
Drink adequate amounts of water. Staying hydrated helps the soft tissues to maintain their elasticity and fluidity at the joints.
Body Weight Matters!
Maintain optimum body weight. Excess weight can increase the stress on all the tissues of the spine, increasing the risk for “wear and tear”.
Stretch Regularly!
Never let your day go without doing some simple stretches. It is the number one technique to improve your overall spine health. Strengthening exercises are great ways to take care of your back. Perform stretches such as pike-stretch, rag doll pose, cobra pose, basket pose, lower back rotation, bridge pose, etc. for a few seconds every day to get the best results. Use a proper technique and do it right.
Deep Belly Breathing
Improve your posture by deep belly breathing. For this, you have to place your hands on your abdominal area and make sure that your belly moves while inhaling and exhaling. Repeat the same whenever possible, this improves your posture and spine health as well. Do you doubt how it works? It enables the spinal nerves to move within the spinal channels, reduces the pain and provides quality time with pain-free days.
Sit/Stand in a Good Posture
Sounds very simple right? Yes, it is in fact! Slouching pulls your spine in the wrong direction and adds extra strain to it. Maintaining your spine straight while standing and sitting can strengthen the associated core muscles and is ideal for preventing back pain. Also, avoid sustained postures, and take breaks periodically.
Sleep well
A good night’s sleep can repair many issues in our body. Sleeping on your back or your stomach can add pressure to your spine, which can be cut by placing a pillow under your knees. It is better to sleep on one side or to assume a position which does not hurt your spine.
Invest your money in buying a good mattress and pillow to support your spine in different positions and to facilitate restorative sleep.
Lift on your knees
While lifting heavy objects, do not put pressure on your back. This is something very common and avoidable by lifting items in a balanced fashion. Stay close to the object and use your legs to pull it up whenever possible. Ask for help if it is too heavy. Remember! You need not do everything yourself.
Spending Time in the Sun
Don’t get your jaw down!! Yes, it's worthy spending time in the sun every day as this can show magical effects on your body, including your spine. Sunlight contains vitamin D, which makes the bones stronger and, the spinal column as well. It’s good to spend at least 15 minutes in the sun every day, especially in the early time sun.
Shoes Do Support
Choose good shoes that provide better support for the base as this may show effects on your lower back. So, choosing comfortable shoes plays a key role in supporting your lower back by letting your body remain aligned. Make sure that the area of the shoe that fits the back of the heel must not be tight, this helps in the prevention of overpronation and helps your foot not to roll much to the outside or inside.
Meditation is Effective Too
Meditation has no direct positive effect on your well-being or spine. Although indirectly it restores alertness, improves your mood, and makes to lead a healthy life. It is said that people who meditate are good at focusing deeply, and can automatically straighten their posture which ends in a positive effect on the spine.
Massage is Beneficial
Yes! Massage has numerous benefits and is the best remedy for stress relief. A good massage stimulates our body’s natural painkillers called endorphins. Massage may allow you to cut back on pain medications.
Smoking is dangerous too
Along with many other life-threatening conditions, smoking is damaging to the spine's health. Tobacco in smoke restricts the blood flow to the tissues surrounding the spine causing the damage. It can slow down the healing process when you have an episode of back pain.
So, by now you have had an idea about how can we manage our spine health to lead a quality time without spine pain. Then, Get back to enjoying a healthy life by following these simple instructions. Although, they may not guarantee a back pain-free life but can certainly reduce your risk of developing back pain. These simple steps can make your life happier and healthier by keeping your spine in good shape.
Consult a spine care specialist in Bangalore if you require treatment for spine-related issues.
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