Sitting for long hours, bad posture or stress, both physical and mental aspects of our body can significantly affect the spinal cord. Here are some everyday things that we do that hampers the spine , and also what we can improve to make it better.
Aching back? bad posture? These are some obvious signs of an unhealthy lifestyle leading to an unhealthy spine. The spinal cord is one of the most important parts of our body. The long elongated structure runs from the brainstem to the lower back and is instrumental in our everyday mobility. Every year, September 5th is commemorated as World Spinal Cord Day. It aims to spread awareness about spinal cord injuries, spine health and more. Lower back pain (LBP) is one of the most common conditions encountered in clinical practice. Speaking exclusively with idnia.com, Dr Abhijit Pawar, consultant, spine and scoliosis surgery, orthopaedics at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, Mumbai, said that it is the leading cause of limitation of activity in patients younger than 45 years.8 out of 10 people will experience low back pain at some point in their lives.
It’s more common with advancing age and relatively common in people who are not physically fit. There are few everyday habits- both physical and mental- that may cause back pain and we probably don’t even realise it.
6 CAUSES OF LOWER BACK PAIN
- Obesity, or quickly gaining significant amounts of weight can lead to low back pain.
- People who do heavylifting, pushing, or pulling at work place are more prone for back pain.
- In addition, poor posture or sitting in a chair with not enough back support can cause back pain.
- Stress, anxiety and depression can affect the body in numerous ways, including causing muscle tension and cause back pain.
- Smoking leads to decreased blood flow and oxygen to the discs, causing degeneration and back pain.
- Inflammatory back pain (IBP), due to an underlying inflammatory disease such as inflammatory arthritis, results in chronic back pain.
5 LIFESTYLE HABITS FOR STRONG SPINE
These days, a major chunk of the population is required to be glued to their computer screens, sit at a place for hours and that can easily escalate into a severe health problem. It will not only degenerate muscles, bones, hinder body posture, but also can put you at risk if cholesterol, BP, heart diseases etc.
Here are a few lifestyle habits to tweak for a healthy and strong spine:
- It is important to maintain good posture at work and in daily routine activities.
- A spine that is too flat or too curved increases stress on all the joints and the discs.P
- atients with back painare advised to exercise regularly and moderately.
- All senior citizen are advised to begin slowly.Don’t try to do too much at once.
- Diet control and weight reduction in necessary in people with established back pain
- Quit smoking and avoid inflammatory food.
- Exercise regularly, stretch your back and maybe practise yoga to correct posture and lower back pain.
From managing weight to everyday lifestyle, we often tend to put our health secondary and work primary. There should a be right balance of things in order to be productive and efficient. Spinal health is one of the most important aspects as we age. therefore, following these tips and tricks should be up the priority list.