Now that school is back in full swing and those lucky enough to have had the summer off from work are back to the daily grind, it’s time to talk about desk spine health. Did you know that the average American spends 13 hours a day sitting? Between sitting at a desk,
Through speaking with patients over years, we know that exercise is the last thing someone experiencing back or neck pain wants to do. While the urge to rest is strong, we encourage those suffering from pain, especially chronic pain, to try to move a little every day.
Why do we want to get everyone up and moving?
Strength training is a great form of exercise that helps you to build and maintain muscle. Regular strength training, 2-3 times per week for 20-30 minutes each time, can help to keep your entire body healthy, including your spine. Strengthening your muscles, especially those in your back and core, can help to alleviate or prevent back pain.
It’s August, meaning kids will soon be heading back to school. Before you complete all of your back-to-school shopping, we urge you to consider the following safe backpack practices. More overuse spine injuries have been diagnosed in children and teens in the past few years. Many people in the spine health community believe that some of these injuries may be the result of using backpacks incorrectly.
Throughout the course of any given year, approximately 15% of US adults experience neck pain that lasts about a day. It’s no surprise that neck pain is so common. The cervical spine provides support to the human head which weighs 11 pounds on average. That’s the equivalent of a medium-sized bowling ball!
While neck pain is common,
While back pain is incredibly common in adults, back pain in kids isn’t. Kids’ spines are much more resilient and flexible than adults’ since they haven’t endured years of wear and tear. That being said, it’s still incredibly important to understand more about back pain in kids and the common causes.
Compared to adults and older children,
We know you can still hear it like it was just yesterday – your mom advising (not nagging) you to do certain things while you were growing up. If you don’t eat your vegetables, no dessert! No coffee, it will stunt your growth. If you keep making that face, it will get frozen like that.
With the weather warming up, we know you’re itching to take a walk around the block and soak up some sunshine. Walking is a great form of low impact aerobic exercise for people of all fitness levels. It provides all of the benefits other forms of aerobic activity provide without the added stress on your joints.
Back pain is incredibly common – 4 out of 5 people will experience back pain at some point in their lifetime. There are many different ways to protect yourself, but the best place to start is by knowing the common causes of back pain.
Once you know what to look out for, you can be proactive in preventing back pain.
Maintaining proper posture can work wonders both preventing and alleviating back pain. We’ve already covered how to achieve great posture while standing and believe it’s time to cover sitting posture.
You Might Also Like: Good Posture: Easy As 123
The majority of us spend most of our days in the seated position.