5 Most important habits to keep your spine strong and healthy.

Back and neck pain is a very common symptom experienced by almost 80 percent of adult population at some point in their lifetime. In some, it can be severe and chronic or recurrent leading to frequent sick leaves from work and may be the reason behind change or loss of jobs.

Follow these most important tips to minimise the chances of back or neck pain becoming a significant problem in your life.

Habit no 1.

Good posture. Maintain good spinal posture during all the daily routine activities including household chores, sitting at work, bending and lifting weights, travelling etc. Adequate back support and maintaining head and neck in alignment with the back are important points to remember and practice. Read and practice the guidelines regarding office ergonomics. Learn the right way of bending and lifting weights without hurting your back.

Make good posture a habit !. Be aware of your posture and keep correcting yourself until it becomes a habit !.

Habit No 2.

Exercise. Regular exercises to strengthen the spinal muscles, abdominal muscles and improving the core muscle strength is an extremely important factor for preventing frequent spinal pain. Those with long duration sitting jobs, women after child birth, old women and men are likely to have weaker core strength that leads to more stresses on the structures in the spine and the back muscles, resulting in spinal pain.

Make exercise a habit !. Exercise regularly to improve the core strength and strengthen the muscles of the back as well as the neck and shoulders.

Habit No 3.

Sleep. It is during the sleep that the spine recovers from the entire days stresses. The spinal muscles are continuously working the entire day when we are in an upright posture. They need adequate duration of rest to recover overnight to be ready for the next day. The discs in the spine loose some water during the day when they are loaded. It is when we sleep and rest that the discs recover the lost water pressure in them. If the sleep duration is inadequate, over a period of time, the repetitive stresses lead to muscle fatigue and also may accelerate disc degeneration.

Sleep adequately !. At least 7 hours of sleep is necessary for the spine to stay healthy.

Habit No 4.

Diet and Sunlight. Adequate water intake is essential to prevent dehydration. The function of the discs in the spine depends on its ability to retain enough water in its matrix. Loss of this ability is the first step towards disc degeneration and related problems.

A balanced diet rich in calcium and vitamin D is essential for muscle and bone strength. Vitamin D deficiency is very common in our population due to lack of adequate sunlight exposure and poor diet habits.

Low vitamin D is associated with increased risk of falls in the elderly, as it affects the muscle co-ordination. Loss of calcium from bones leads to osteoporosis which in turn leads fractures and also results in acceleration of disc degeneration.

Get some sunlight, eat healthy and hydrate yourself well.!

Habit No 5.

Quit Smoking. The only factor that is proven to lead to early disc degeneration, apart from genetic composition, is tobacco smoking !. The discs in the spine do not have their own blood supply and they depend on the adjacent vertebral body for oxygen, glucose and other essential nutrients.

Smoking results in reduced blood supply to the vertebral bodies and this affects the permeation of nutrients into the discs, setting off an acceleration of disc degeneration and related problems.

Smokers are also at a significantly higher risk of osteoporosis.

So if you are a smoker, quit now!!.

These 5 habits can help minimise the chances of significant back or neck pain troubling you by taking care of the most common causes. There could be other causes of spinal pain and if symptoms persist or keep recurring, see your doctor for further evaluation.

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Dr Phani Kiran S

Experience and Professionalism

With years of experience in spine surgery, Dr Phani Kiran S, Senior Consultant Spine Surgeon will assess you and suggest the treatment option that is right for you.

We at Medspine clinics, understand the importance of educating all our patients about the spinal problems and the most effective ways to take care of their spine.