Man receives care for his back pain.

Daily Habits That Support a Healthy Spine

Wondering what you can do to prevent backaches? Incorporating a few of these habits into your daily routine will help you keep your spine healthy.

Strengthen Your Core

The effects of gravity and wear and tear take a toll on your spine. In fact, age-related spinal changes can begin as early as age 30, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Although you can't completely avoid these changes, strengthening the muscles that support your spine reduces your risk for back pain and improves posture, stability and balance. Exercises like planks and crunches are ideal for strengthening muscles in your back, abdomen, and hips.

Keep Moving

Movement helps your spine stay flexible and improves blood flow to your back. You don't need to follow a complicated exercise routine to enjoy the back health benefits of movement. Walking, swimming, cycling, dancing, and other activities help keep your spine limber and healthy.

Lift Carefully

Poor lifting techniques can stress your back, strain muscles and ligaments, and may even increase your risk for herniated discs. According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 50% of low back pain is caused by twisting, bending, lifting, pushing, or carrying heavy items.

Practice safe lifting techniques by bending at your knees when you pick up an object. Hold the object close to your chest if possible. Keep your back straight as you stand. Don't twist as you lift.

Pick up a corner of the object to gauge its weight. If an object seems too heavy to lift alone, don't move it or lift it without help.

Make Positive Lifestyle Changes

Obesity and smoking increase the risk of low back pain, according to The Lancet Rheumatology. Extra pounds stress your spine and increase the amount of pressure on it. Stress and strain may damage the discs that cushion your vertebrae and lead to arthritis. Even a few extra pounds could increase your likelihood for back pain.

Smoking reduces blood flow to the spine and can affect disc, bone, and blood vessel health, according to a 2021 literature review published in Surgical Neurology International. Although losing weight and quitting smoking can be challenging, making these changes could improve the health of your spine.

Limit Sitting

Sitting also increases stress on the spine and can be a factor in back pain. Reduce the effects of sitting by including frequent breaks in your schedule. Take a few minutes to stretch, walk in place, or take a short stroll before returning to your chair. Schedule breaks every 30 minutes to one hour.

Pay Attention to Posture

Slouching, whether you're sitting or standing, is a common cause of back pain. Poor posture stresses your spine, muscles, and joints and can cause subluxations, which are misalignments of the vertebrae in your spine. Keep your head in a neutral position and avoid hunching your upper back when you sit or stand.

Good posture is just as important when using digital devices. Bending your head to view devices can cause text neck, a painful condition that can lead to permanent changes in your spine if you don't improve your posture. Symptoms of text neck include headaches, subluxations, tingling or numbness in your hands, and pain and stiffness in shoulder, neck, and upper back. Hold devices at eye level to reduce your risk for text neck.

Regular visits to the chiropractor can help you correct subluxations caused by poor posture. Spinal adjustments, one of the treatments offered by your chiropractor, improve the alignment of the vertebrae by applying quick thrusts to the spine. This painless treatment offers a simple way to improve your posture and reduce your risk for back pain.

Dealing with back pain? Chiropractic care can ease your pain and improve spinal alignment. Contact our office to schedule an appointment with the chiropractor.

Sources:

Spine Health Foundation: 30 Tips for Spine Health Prevention & Wellness, 10/17/2024

https://spinehealth.org/article/spine-health-wellness/

PMC: Surgical Neurology International : Adverse Impact of Smoking on the Spine and Spinal Surgery, 3/24/2021

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8053459/

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health: Engineering Controls Database, 11/16/2018

https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/engcontrols/ecd/detail25.html

Harvard Health Publishing: Three Moves for Better Spine Health, 8/1/2020

https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthy-aging-and-longevity/three-moves-for-better-spine-health

American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: Low Back Pain

https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/diseases--conditions/low-back-pain/

Lancet Rheumatology: Global, Regional, and National Burden of Low Back Pain, 1990-2020, Its Attributable Risk Factors, and Projections to 2050: A Systematic Analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021, 7/2023

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanrhe/article/PIIS2665-9913(23)00098-X/fulltext