Weekly Words of Wisdom ~ #28
Why do the traditional approaches to back and neck pain so often fail? It is because the most important thing to know is that pain is your brain’s way of letting you know that there is a problem in your body and to please get some help!! NEVER IGNORE PAIN any more than you would ignore a fire alarm going off. Drugs are prescribed to reduce pain but with limited success as they cannot address the cause of the pain which in this case is vertebral subluxation. Surgery typically has limited success as it only targets only one problem in a spine that undoubtedly has many. Your brain is committed to your health and will keep the pain alarm turned on until your health is restored. According to research, only Chiropractic can restore optimal structure and function to the spinal column which allows the pain alarm to turn off and health to turn on, naturally.
Some Easy Tips To Protect Your Spine And Nervous System:
- Always stretch before any strenuous physical activity (In fact it would be wise to engage in a regular stretching program. Don’t know what kind of stretches to do? Just ask us for a stretching sheet today!) Yoga classes are great for the spine!! Alyssa offers an incredible one hour class on Wednesdays at 6:15pm and Saturdays at 9:30am.
- Sit or stand with your shoulders back and your ears back over your shoulders, and a healthy inward curve in your lower spine.
- Sit in chairs or car seats with good lumbar support. When that lumbar curve is in place, your upper back and neck posture will follow!
- Switch sitting positions often and periodically walk around or gently stretch muscles to relieve tension.
- Don’t bend over without supporting your back and engaging your core by tightening your belly button towards your spine.
- Wear comfortable, low-heeled shoes.
- Sleep on your side to reduce any curve in your spine, and always sleep on a firm surface. Using a cervical pillow and putting a pillow in between your knees is also very helpful.
- Lift using the power of your legs, keeping the inward lower back curve in place.
- Eat as much organic, whole food produce as possible, especially greens!
- Drink ½ your body weight in ounces of clean, filtered water
- And of course, get regular chiropractic care. In our “sitting-sedentary based” culture it is impossible to maintain optimal spine and nervous system function without receiving chiropractic adjustments minimally every two weeks. But hey, where else can you change your health dramatically in a matter of minutes!!