Top 15 Tips to Keep your Spine Healthy while you age

RishabhSeptember 9, 202102.6k views

Every small thing or habit we acquire over years turns out to become a boon or a bane for our body. And we already know how important it has become to keep our body in the best shape, especially while we enter the older ages of our lives. One of the organs of our body that sees a huge decline over years is the spine.

Usually, a bad sitting posture like bending the spine while sitting, wrong sleeping posture, and prolonged reading- writing with a wrong posture are the major reasons why a person is unable to look after their spine health.

It is not unknown how important the spine is for our body to move, walk, sit, stand or function properly. If you have been feeling tense shoulders, frequent backaches, or difficulty in moving your neck, then here are 15 simple spine health tips that can help you stay away from some irreversible problems.

Check out 15 Tips to make your spine stronger

Make exercise a part of your daily routine

Following an active lifestyle is of utmost importance when it comes to answering the question, “how to keep your spine healthy?” Stretching, bending, and relieving joint stiffness help a lot in keeping your spine health top-notch. Playing sports, walking, and athleticism can help you a lot in keeping the stress away from your spine.

Exercising not only helps in keeping the health of your spine in check but also works wonders for people’s rehabilitation from any spine injury. The right exercises drastically help in reducing inflammation in your spine and boosts the healing process. It keeps your joints, muscles, and ligaments in top shape and condition. So it is better that you select the best exercise and start doing it.

Keep your sleeping posture right

Just like the rest of the body parts, your spine too rests during the night when you sleep. But if you do not sleep in the right posture, you keep the spine in stress the whole time. It is very important to know that if you wish to keep your back healthy you should regulate your sleeping posture.

Not many people take it seriously but you should. You should lay down straight on your mattress while supporting the neck with a pillow. That is the best position to rest your spine.

It is not only the way you sleep that matters, if you take the wrong mattress, that can also hurt and bring pain to your lower back. These days, with such a strict working schedule, our body needs utmost comfort, and choosing the right mattress can help in achieving it.

Wear comfortable footwear

Did you know the fact that shoes also play a vital role in your spine health? A comfortable and relaxed shoe supports your back and your spine while you walk or run. According to a study it is seen that 1 inch of heels increases the strain as well as pressure on your spine by 22%.

This is the reason why it is important to have a comfortable pair of footwear. Not only does it keep your spine aligned but keeps away supination and pronation as well.

The best footwear for a healthy spine includes shoes, sneakers, and other flat footwear options. Make sure whatever you wear doesn’t irritate or pinch any part of your feet. Just keep one thing in mind, however good a pair of shoes might look, do not buy them if they are too loose or tight. All the discomfort you feel while wearing them will lead to spine discomfort in the long run.

Mend your sitting posture

Many of us have a sitting job where we have to sit in front of a computer throughout the day and keep working. Prolonged seating in a chair can be problematic. What’s more important for your spine health is your posture.

Many doctors say that there are multiple natural curves in our spine and while we are sitting it is important for us to support those curves. The prolonged seating in a wrong posture can damage the sensitive spinal nerves of a body.

Sitting in the wrong posture increases the stress and strain on your spinal discs by approximately 40%. Over time, this would result in pain, compression, and inflammation.

If you have a sitting job and you wish to keep your back healthy it is highly recommended that you have a comfortable chair and desk.

Meditation is also important for a healthy spine

Not many people know about it but meditating right in the morning not only helps your mind and soul but your body as well. True, it recharges your body for the upcoming day but what’s more important to know here is that while you meditate you sit or lay in the correct posture helping your spine to get better.

According to many studies and surveys, it is seen that meditation helps in fighting chronic back pain and it is highly effective against any discomfort caused to the spine.

If you have been asking people how to make your spine Strong & flexible, meditation is the answer for you. Try integrating this into your daily routine. Though it is said that meditating whenever you feel comfortable is good enough, when done in the morning gives you good results.

Start taking morning and evening walk

Remember when our parents went for a walk and we stayed back because we wanted to sleep some more or watch a movie? This lethargic lifestyle has increased the risk of spine health. Many doctors have listed numerous benefits of walking (brisk walking).

Doing so every day increases bone strength, improves the spine structure, improves the flexibility of the spine, nourishes the tissues, and a lot more benefits follow.

If you are experiencing discomfort in standing or walking, it means you need to start taking morning or evening walks.

Get heat therapy

If you are in a stage where you have started experiencing regular backaches, this is an indication that your spine health is not good at all. Though the above-given tips are very helpful when it comes to getting a quicker solution, taking heat therapy can do the trick.

While treating your back during heat therapy you allow more blood to flow through your body. This in return starts healing the pain and reduces it significantly.

It reduces the tension around your back and gives temporary relief to your body. For this, you can either buy a heating pad or just visit a spa center. You can also apply warm gel packs or take a bath with warm water. Another resort to treating your spine health is by using a hot water bottle.

Get a massage

You might have thought taking a massage was a luxury for affluent people. But that’s not true. Spa centers have people who have learned the art of reducing tension from the body.

Apart from the relaxation you feel during your massaging session, there are a lot of other benefits too. Most of them are for your spine health and wellness.

Increasing blood flow, boosting feelings of relaxation, loosening tight muscles, and connective tissues are some of the advantages. With the help of massage therapy, a person can restore the spinal range, help in reducing restlessness, and also reduce back pain to a great extent.

Pool exercises can also help you drastically

People facing spine problems can also treat it with the help of pool exercises. Yes, you heard that right. Taking to the water will give good therapy to your back. An added benefit to this is that you do not risk your body to any injury. Pool exercises also help in reducing the pressure on your bones.

Proper lifting

You might have heard from good trainers at the gym that whatever weight you lift, do it properly. One of the most important instructions given by any gym trainer is about lifting weight properly.

Most of the time when a person lifts a weight improperly it affects the spinal cord. There happens to be friction between the bones and it can cause a problem in the longer run.

One of the spine health tips that every weightlifter should religiously follow is to lift properly. If you are unable to pick up the weight it is better to reduce it rather than painfully lifting it.

Take regular breaks from phone/I pads/laptops

Whenever a person uses their phone while sitting, they have to constantly look downwards. This is not good for the neck or the spine. Looking downwards constantly at your phone/device is like putting the weight of a bowling ball on your upper spine.

Put your phone away and be present in your surroundings for a while which will help you in soothing your spine from stiffness and neck pain.

So to keep your spine healthy make sure that you take frequent breaks and leave your phone aside if you are not doing anything fruitful. This is also hurting your eyes, mind that!

Smoking Effects

As you are already aware of the fact that Smoking affects all the tissues and systems in our body. Not only this, but it also increases the risks of cancer, lung disease, heart disease, stroke, and depression. Smokers have to face a lot of problems related to their spine health.

Smoking cigarettes regularly limits the oxygen amount and nutrients that make their way up the spine and also reduces your bone density that leads to weak bones. Smoking also indirectly creates problems for your spine health.

Healthy Weight helps

Obesity is the root of many problems and when it comes to spinal health- it plays a crucial role. When a person gets overweight, it’s the legs and the spine that takes the added effort to keep the person moving.

It strains the back and damages the spine. This is the reason why one should always keep a tab on their BMI or Body mass index. Not only does it help in staying away from chronic back pain but a lot of other problems as well.

Do have a balanced diet

Do you know a lot of problems can be cured by simply regulating what you eat and how much you eat? Taking a good diet is key to having a healthy spine.

A diet that has all the nutrients and vitamins with the right amount of protein and carbs is what your body should get. That would balance your energy, strength, and nourishment in the best way possible.

Work on your core

Core means your stomach and those who regularly work on their core stay away from spine problems. From doing crunches to laid criss-cross walking at a place can help your body a lot. It not only makes you fitter and increases the overall strength but also helps in relieving the person from spine problems. (But it will surely take time and you will regularly have to train your core).

Conclusion

If, how to make your spine Strong & flexible is a question haunting you, then the above-listed 15 points are going to help you out with it. Some of them will give you instant relief whereas others require some time and a lot of effort. Make sure to follow them regularly so that you are able to give your back and spine the relaxation they need.

If you have any spine related problem, you can contact Medi Connect India, which offers best Neuro & Spine treatment in India.