3 Keys to a Stronger Spine
Boost Your Spinal Resilience with our Practical Personal Checklist!
- Hey there, spine champions! Do you find yourself battling annoying neck pain or an achy lower back?
- Feeling like those adjustments just aren’t lasting like they used to? Fear not! You might be experiencing a dip in your spinal resilience, but we’re here to help you bounce back.
- Let’s dive into what spinal resilience is and how you can build it back stronger than ever.
What is Spinal Resilience?
Think of spinal resilience as your spine’s superpower. It’s all about being robust yet flexible, able to withstand stress, recover quickly from injuries, and maintain full mobility and health over time.
In other words, it’s your spine’s ability to stay strong, flexible, and pain-free no matter what life throws at it.
The 3 Keys to Optimal Spinal Resilience
Ready to fortify your spine? Here are the three magic keys to increasing your spinal resilience:
- Regular Chiropractic Checkups and Adjustments. Chiropractic care is like giving your spine a VIP treatment. By addressing the root causes of spinal issues, chiropractors help you maintain a strong and resilient spine. Think of it as a spa day for your back, but with lasting benefits!
- Stretch, Strengthen, and Move. Keep your spine and body moving every two to three days. This is about all-round fitness, or tone; it’s about building flexibility, strength, and endurance. You’ll need those toned muscles to protect your joints and prevent strain. Check out our exercise tips in the checklist below for some specific ways to get and stay active!
- Reduce Stress on Your Spine. Stress isn’t just mental—it takes a toll on your spine too. Physical and mental stress can weaken your spine, so it’s crucial to manage both. Look after your body chemistry* and muscle tone to keep your spine in top shape.
*See below for the effects of cortisol, adrenaline and inflammatory chemicals on the body.
Why Chiropractic Comes First
Chiropractic care focuses on diagnosing, treating, and preventing spinal issues that weaken your spine and impair your nervous system. When it comes to relieving pain, restoring function, and building resilience, chiropractic care is your first point of call.
Your chiropractor takes a holistic approach, helping you improve your posture, ergonomics, exercise, and nutrition—all essential for a healthy spine. This comprehensive care strengthens the muscles supporting your spine, enhances flexibility, and boosts overall physical function.
Your Practical and Personal 10 Point Checklist
As you go through this checklist, give yourself a pat on the back for the things you’re already doing, and make a note of what you can improve. Let’s get started!
Move That Body and Stay in Shape!
✔ Regular Exercise: Engage in physical activities that include strength training, cardio, and flexibility routines. Strength/resistance training examples might include weight training, swimming, thera-band, push-ups, sit-ups and chin-ups.Cardio/endurance examples include walking, jogging, cycling, skating, rowing and swimming. Work up to an aerobic session lasting 30 to 60 minutes, 3 to 5 times a week.
✔ Core Strengthening: Focus on exercises that target your core muscles—abs, back, and pelvis—to support your spine. Go to our Strengthen Your Core blog for more info and a printout link.
✔ Stretch for Flexibility: Make stretching your spine and limbs a part of your routine to enhance flexibility and reduce spinal tension. Examples here are our exercise handout and yoga and Pilates. Stretch as far as you can and hold the stretch for 30+ secondsand then ease back
✔ Proper Posture: Keep good posture while sitting, standing, and sleeping to minimize strain on your spine.**
✔ Weight Management: Maintain a healthy weight to lessen the pressure on your spine.
✔ Balanced Diet and Hydration: Eat a diet rich in nutrients that support bone health, like calcium and vitamin D. Stay hydrated to keep your intervertebral discs healthy.
At Work
✔ Proper Lifting Techniques: Use correct lifting techniques, like bending at the knees and keeping your back straight, to prevent injuries.
✔ Ergonomic Work Environment: Set up your workspace with ergonomic furniture and equipment to support your spine. (Future blog coming soon!)
Remember to Relax!
✔ Stress and Breathing Management: Practice stress-reducing techniques like mindfulness, breath work, meditation, or yoga to relieve muscle tension and boost spine health.**
✔ Sleep Well on a Supportive Mattress: Use a mattress and pillows that support the natural curves of your spine for proper alignment.**
**For more information see our breathing, sleeping, posture and core exercise blogs. Or go to our Workshop section as we have 1hr monthly advanced workshops on many of these topics.
Resilience and The Chiropractic Lifestyle
Chiropractic is more than just pain relief and resilience is more than just about your body.
By incorporating these strategies into your daily life you can significantly enhance your physical, and specifically spinal resilience, reducing the risk of injuries and promoting long-term spine health and overall wellbeing.
Regular chiropractic visits ensure your spine and body remain strong, contributing to your overall well-being and quality of life.
Remember, a resilient spine is a happy spine. So, let’s keep moving, stretching, and taking care of our spines like the champions we are!
* By ‘body chemistry’ we mean stress chemicals and hormones. The short and long-term activation of the stress response system and the overexposure to cortisol and other stress hormones that come with it can disrupt almost all of your body’s processes. This can put you at increased risk for a variety of physical and mental health problems, including inflammation, anxiety, depression, digestive issues, headaches, muscle tension and pain, heart disease, heart attack, high blood pressure, stroke, sleep problems, weight gain, and memory and concentration impairment. Chronic stress also suppresses the body’s immune system, making it harder to recover from illnesses. https://www.apa.org/topics/stress/health
