How to Cultivate Spine Health as You Age

How to Cultivate Spine Health as You Age

Spinal wellness is one of the most critical aspects of your overall health. A healthy spine is crucial for your posture, your mobility, and, perhaps most importantly, your comfort. An improperly-maintained spine can lead to chronic pain, which can become unmanageable. As you age, the issue of spinal degeneration becomes even more pressing, making it more crucial than ever for you to do all you can to maintain your spinal health. If you are experiencing chronic spinal pain, contact one of the pain and spine specialists at the office of Dr. Raul Martinez in San Antonio. In the meantime, if you are wondering how to cultivate spine health as you age, the following will help.

Exercise

The most effective spine pain treatment is often preventative, and, while you cannot stop spinal degeneration entirely, you can take steps to make it more manageable. A proper exercise schedule is necessary to many aspects of your overall health, and not many parts of your body will benefit from appropriate and regular exercise as much as your spine.

Exercise helps your spine and chronic pain management in numerous ways, from strengthening the muscles around the spine to preventing excessive weight gain, which can put the spine under strain. Incorporating exercises such as running, cycling, swimming, or even just stretching into your daily routine can have considerable long-term effects on your spine health.

Posture

Maintaining proper posture is necessary for long-term spine health. When sitting down for long periods, it can be easy to forget to check your posture; however, slouching or irregular sitting can, in the long term, do major damage to your spine. Make sure to sit with your back straight and your shoulders relaxed, and consider investing in an office chair that offers good lumbar support. When standing, try to hold your weight on the balls of your feet and avoid slouching. Though these are passive activities, they are among the most effective forms of spine pain treatment.

Sleep

Posture is no less significant when we are asleep than when we are awake. We spend a full third of our lives sleeping, and we still undergo stress, even if we are not awake to feel it. Thus, proper posture while sleeping is an essential tool in spine pain management. A good sleeping posture maintains the natural curve of your back while keeping your spine straight. Sleeping on your back or your side with your legs straight are the healthiest sleep positions; sleeping with your legs drawn up to your chest in the fetal position forces your spine into an unnatural position, and may lead to chronic pain.

Try never to sleep with your pillow beneath your shoulders, and make sure your pillows are at a comfortable height. You might also consider investing in a lumbar pillow, which will help your spine maintain its shape while sleeping. Also, make sure that your mattress is sufficiently firm, as a mattress that doesn’t offer your back the proper support can be extremely harmful over time. Selecting the mattress and pillows that feel best for you is its own form of chronic pain management.

Reach Out to Texas Pain Specialists Today

If you are struggling with spine health issues and wondering how to cultivate spine health as you age, do not hesitate to contact the office of Dr. Raul Martinez in San Antonio today. Our team of specialists has several combined years of experience with spine pain treatment and can offer you help with your current problems and plans for alleviating them and preventing them from getting worse in the future. We offer numerous treatment options to manage spine pain if you are not getting relief on your own. To see how Dr. Martinez and his team can help you, contact us today.