It’s that time of year! Where everyone makes resolutions to kick off the New Year with some goals that undoubtedly many won’t and can’t achieve. If you are one of those who have the discipline and drive to achieve your resolutions year after year, we commend you! For all of us who have a hard time, we thought we’d offer some resolutions that aren’t a pain in the back (literally)!
Try making these SMALL changes which can have a BIG impact on minimizing your back and neck pain!
STAND GOALS
If you have an Apple© watch, you’re familiar with stand goals. If you don’t? No fancy tech needed! Every hour, stand for 1 minute. Sounds simple right? This gets your blood flowing, stretches your muscles, and gives you a boost of energy!
WALK MORE
Walking is one of the most underrated forms of exercise there is. No fancy gym equipment needed. Walk 10 minutes a day. Walking reduces inflammation, gets your heart rate up, strengthens your muscles, gets our blood moving, and allows oxygen to reach areas where you may have back pain.
LOOK UP FROM YOUR PHONE
We can text, shop, check emails, and play games all from our phones. While it may be convenient, phones are damaging our necks. Look up more. Call someone instead of texting, limit the time you spend on your phone scrolling through newsfeeds. You’ll reduce your neck pain and enjoy your surroundings more.
PLANK EVERY DAY
Increasing your core strength is one of the best ways to have a healthy spine! Start planking every day. It doesn’t matter if you start with 10 seconds or 2 minutes. Every few days raise your time by 5 seconds. This simple exercise will increase your core strength, gets blood flowing and builds muscle to protect your spinal column.
MORE CALCIUM, MORE TURMERIC
Don’t starve yourself with New Year’s resolutions to lose weight. While losing those extra pounds can have big benefits on your spine health, there are other simple steps you can take. Increase the calcium and turmeric in your diet. Calcium is great to build muscle strength, which will help core muscles stabilize your spinal column. Turmeric can reduce inflammation and pain in stiff joints.
INVEST IN POSTURE
It doesn’t matter if you sit or stand all day, your posture plays a huge role in minimizing back or neck pain. Purchase essentials to help you stabilize your posture. There are a wide variety of options fit for any budget to help you achieve proper posture. From chairs to laptop mounts, standing desks and more, find an option that’s suitable for you.
SEEK TREATMENT
Have you been suffering from consistent back and neck pain? It’s time to get a handle on your spine health. Call the TOP DOCS at First State Spine to schedule an appointment.
Always check with your physician to see if these tips are safe to follow based on your health history.
