Welcome to 2020! Who’s determined to make this their best year yet? We know we are! To kick off the year with a bang, we decided to provide you with some reasonable resolutions to make if you’re suffering from back or neck pain.
Resolutions can be difficult to maintain throughout the year, but we believe slow implementation is the key. Change one small habit at a time and soon you’ll be rid of all of the pesky bad habits contributing to your pain.
Implement an active lifestyle
An active lifestyle is essential to your overall health, including your spine. As we always say, an active spine is a healthy one. We know it can be hard to exercise when you are experiencing pain, but it’s important to build up your strength and to stretch on a daily basis.
This year we’re encouraging you to ditch all of the exercise programs you don’t like and focus on ones you do. Not a big fan of hitting the gym solo? Choose a gym that offers group exercise! Doing something you love will make it easier to stick to the plan.
See how various types of exercises can help prevent or relieve back pain:
Engage your mind
Mindful meditation has proven to be an effective treatment for those suffering from chronic pain. The best part is that it only takes up about 15 minutes of your day, so don’t try telling us you can’t find the time. New to meditation? Discover how to meditate for back pain relief.
Reevaluate your posture
We know we talk about this all the time, but that’s only because it’s so incredibly important. If we told you this every single day, it still wouldn’t be often enough.
If you have poor posture, you’re destined for back pain. Read our blog on correct posture and try to be mindful of how you’re sitting and standing.
Eat for your health
Eating healthy goes hand-in-hand with a healthy lifestyle. The nutrients you ingest from eating whole foods work wonders for your body. Also, eating healthy can help you to maintain a proper weight and, as you surely know, being overweight can severely stress your spine.
Calcium and vitamin D are two key nutrients that help to support bone health. Not sure how much calcium you should be consuming? Below is the recommended daily intake of calcium by age.
- Adults 25-50 years old: 1,000 milligrams per day with 400 i.u. of vitamin D
- Adults 50+ years old: 1,500 milligrams per day with 400-800 i.u. of vitamin D
Click here to discover other nutrients you should consume to support your spine health.
Assess your sleeping position
Is your pillow the correct height? Are you more prone to experiencing pain because of your sleeping position? You spend a large chunk of your day sleeping, making it a likely contributor to your pain. Find all of the answers you need in our blog about sleeping positions.
Quit smoking
Smoking increases your likelihood of developing degenerative spinal disorders and back pain, along with a host of other health issues. If you haven’t already, this is the year to quit smoking. Click here to learn all you need to know about how smoking can affect your spine health.
As we mentioned above, it’s probably not the best idea to attempt all of these changes at once. We don’t want you to just be healthy now – we want you to be healthy for the rest of your life.
If you have any questions at all about preventing or managing back pain, feel free to contact us. Now get out there and make this your year!