New Year, New You: 5 Resolutions for a Healthier Spine

Improving your spine health can benefit your overall wellness in significant ways. Involved with everything from sitting and moving with ease to restful sleep and emotional well-being, a healthy spine means more enjoyable living.

Dr. Nicholas Perenich and his team at Spine Institute of Florida in Dade City and Spring Hill provide comprehensive spine care for patients of all ages. If you’d like to improve your own spine health this year, consider the following practices.

1. Improve your posture

Good posture keeps your spine and body in healthy alignment. As a result, you’ll be less prone to common issues, such as back pain, headaches, and nerve compression. Good posture may also improve your breathing, energy levels, digestion, and confidence. It may even safeguard you from injuries and lower stress levels in your body by preventing physical tension.

When you’re standing, keep your head fairly lined up with your shoulders. Meanwhile, keep your shoulders back and down, versus slumped forward. When you sit for hours, take breaks to stand or walk every 30-60 minutes and switch positions often. Ergonomic devices, such as computer stands, can help, too. 

2. Improve your exercise habits

Routine exercise benefits your whole body, including your spine. Aerobic activities, such as walking, dancing, and biking, help keep nutrient-rich blood flowing to your spine. Strengthening exercises, such as bridge formations and squeezing your shoulder blades together, can increase muscle tone and flexibility, guarding against nerve damage and pain.

Aim for 30 minutes of moderately intense exercise 5-6 days per week. You can benefit similarly from about half as much at a high intensity. Just make sure you ease into intense or lengthy exercise to avoid pain and injuries.

3. Use better lifting technique

Poor lifting technique is one of the most common ways to develop a herniated disc. Whether you’re lifting a heavy everyday object or weights, bend your knees instead of your waist. This leads to a squat formation, rather than a half-body bend. Then keep the item near your body as you raise it. 

When in doubt or if you have physical limitations, ask for help or use an assistive device to lift something heavy or sizable.

4. Practice mindfulness or meditation

Mindfulness might not seem directly linked to spine health, but these kinds of practices can really help. Numerous clinical trials have linked routine meditation with reduced low back pain. 

Meditation can improve your posture, reduce inflammation, and ease tense back muscles. Breathing exercises, walking meditation, and body scans, where you consider how the body area feels from your head to your toes, can help, too. 

5. Seek professional guidance

Working with a qualified professional can take the guesswork out of your spine health goals. Through comprehensive exams and assessments, our team diagnoses and treats spine issues with conservative therapies. 

For advanced and treatment-resistant issues, we offer minimally invasive procedures and complex spine surgeries. We can also suggest personalized preventive steps to keep your spine healthy for years to come.

To get started with compassionate, expert care, call Spine Institute of Florida or schedule an appointment through our website today.