Your spine, although impossible to see yourself, is the most important structure in the entirety of your body and it is absolutely crucial that you do everything you can to protect your back and spine throughout your life.
So, regardless of your age and your personal lifestyle and other factors, take heed of the following four ways to protect your spine in your daily life.
1. Rest Your Back Properly
Whether you have just undertaken a morning of heavy lifting, or else regularly spend hours a day sitting at a desk working on the computer, it is essential to rest your back properly after such activity.
If you have needed to undergo treatment, such as the renowned stem cell treatment from bioxcellerator.com or physiotherapy to relieve pain, you should follow the recovery advise and never try to do too much and give your body the rest and recuperation that it needs.
2. Lift Heavy Objects Correctly
When in a rush to complete a task, either at work or at home, it can be all-too easy to skip manual handling procedures and instead just grab boxes any way you can and load them. Even if you do this several times and experience no twinges, aches or pains, you could still have done temporary, or even permanent, damage to your spine and lower back.
Instead, you should follow the official manual handling guidelines, as outlined below:
- Bend fully at your knees (rather than from your lower back)
- Pivot your hips and feet (rather than twisting your spine)
- Hold the box close to your chest
- Keep your spine as straight as possible
3. Regularly Work on Your Core Muscles
When it comes to thinking about strengthening the core of your body, this involves working on supporting the muscles and bones around your spinal area. To ensure that you are doing everything that you can to work on your core and improve the strength of your spine, there are three things you can do which have proven to be exceedingly effective.
Investing in an exercise ball is a fantastic way to have fun whilst working on your core and just twenty to thirty minutes using your new exercise ball to stretch will serve to engage every one of your core muscles. Additionally, you could start to embark upon cardiovascular exercises, even on a low-impact basis, as well as start swimming regularly, as water therapy is fantastic for protecting and strengthening the back.
4. Stretch-Out Your Hamstrings
The fourth and final piece of advice when it comes to working to protect your spine and back in your daily life may come as a surprise.
Contrary to popular belief, one of the most common causes of back pain and spinal injury is when the hamstring muscles are too tight. Luckily, this risk can be eradicated quickly and effectively, primarily by engaging in basic stretching exercises which will serve to reduce the pressure and stress on the pelvis and therefore release tension otherwise placed on the lower back.
