4 Tips For Improving Spine Health
We often need a prompt to start a beneficial habit. Whether it be a new year, the start of the month or simply a Monday. Practising positive spinal health habits will help you improve spine health and also help reduce the chances of experiencing back pain later in life.
With 4 million Australians experiencing back pain at some point in their lives, taking care of your spinal health should be a priority. The following tips to improve spine health don’t involve much more than practising better body mechanics when you do daily tasks and activities. These tips can be implemented on a daily basis.
It’s important to think about how our daily habits impact our spinal health, so here are a few simple tips and activities you can use to implement positive spinal health habits into all 365 days of the year!
1. Practice Correct Posture
Trying to maintain correct posture during the day is a great start to forming positive spinal health habits. If you’re sitting at a desk for the majority of your day, try and sit with your shoulders back and relaxed with both feet firmly on the floor.
Alternatively, if you are in an environment where you are constantly standing, make sure to stand straight and tall with your shoulders pulled back and your pelvis tilted to activate your core. If you’re interested in learning more about improving your posture on a daily basis, you can find more here.
2. Take a Break From Technology
Technology forms part of our daily lives, but prolonged periods of looking down can cause a strain on your neck, resulting in long term neck pain. To avoid this, try to take regular breaks from technology when you can – whether that be during the work day, in your evenings or on the weekends.
When you are using devices like phones and tablets, try and hold them up to eye level, with your chin parallel to the floor. This can drastically reduce neck strain and upper back tightness. With technology continually evolving and becoming more entwined with our lives, learning how to reduce technology-related neck pain is increasingly important.
3. Go For a Walk
Walking is a simple and easy exercise that helps to improve your overall health, by improving circulation, mobility and contributing to a natural upright posture. Each step you take strengthens the muscles that stabilise your spine, which makes walking a great solution to improve spine health. Walking also offers a range of other health benefits – learn more here.
To start forming the habit of walking regularly, aim for 10,000 steps a day or try and squeeze in a 30-minute walk in the morning, evening or even during your lunch break! There are plenty of apps that can help track and map your walk, as well as remind you to get up and go for your daily walk.
4. Take the Time to Stretch
Stretching can be a great way to improve spine health and general well-being. Thankfully, there are many ways to implement stretching into your daily routine.
If you have the time, we recommend doing a yoga or pilates class once or twice a week, as these can be very effective in improving flexibility and strength. These types of gentle exercises improve core muscle strength and your body’s range of motion. They can also be beneficial to those with spinal conditions.
If you’d rather stretch at home, but you’re not sure which stretches can help improve your spinal health, the 3-minute stretching program on the Straighten Up App is designed to do just that. The program takes you through each stretch to perform – anytime, anywhere.
For more tips, read our blog on the 5 ways to get a healthy spine.
Visit Dr Miki Humphrey
Focusing on your spinal health is paramount to living a healthy life. If you’re interested in finding a professional and experienced health professional to assist with your spinal health, look no further than Dynamic Chiropractic. We are chiropractor you can trust to prevent back pain and stress on the spine, creating a pain-free and healthy spine for years to come.
Located in the heart of Brisbane City, Dynamic Chiropractic has a trusted team of experienced chiropractors on hand to assist with your spine health. With a passion for health and pain relief, our chiropractics can provide you with the advice and assistance that is required to improve your spinal health.
Whether you’re interested in specific care for an area of concern, or regular chiropractic to maintain your posture and spinal health – Dynamic Chiropractic can help you out. Book online today or contact us for more information, and a member of our team will be in touch.
