How to Protect Your Spine for Your Whole Life

Are you worried about experiencing back problems as you get older? Many people are aware of how to take care of their heart health but not their spine health. To take care of your spine, it's important to do spine exercises, maintain proper posture throughout the day and eat foods that strengthen and protect the spine.

Exercises

No matter how active or inactive your lifestyle is, you should do exercises every day that support spine health. Spine exercises will help relieve muscle tension, elongate the spine to prevent too little space between disks, and strengthen the back to decrease the chance of injury. It's not just weak back muscles that can cause injury but those that are too tight. With the stress of the modern world, almost everyone gets tension in their backs and necks. Thus, it's necessary to perform spine exercises every day. It will not only help you feel better, but you can avoid some stress on your wallet. Spine injury costs are staggering enough to ruin lives. Examples of common spine injuries are slipped disk, sprain, strain, compression fracture, spasm, and fractured vertebrae. Some exercises you can do to protect your spine are planks, back flexion, ear to shoulder stretch, knee to chest stretch, chin to chest stretch and wall angels.

Maintain Good Posture

Using smartphones and laptops put your body into poor posture when you don't know how to correctly use these devices for protecting your spine. Many people don't even realise what's happening to their body while they use these devices, but over time, they begin to feel the negative effects, such as neck pain, headaches, shoulder pain, and other health issues. Others who look at them may notice that their shoulders have become rounded and their heads jut forward, though they won't say anything for the sake of politeness. Use posture correction exercises every day to improve your posture. Learn what good posture feels like and stay aware throughout the day to know when you begin slouching or falling out of a good posture.

Healthy Eating

Eating plant-based proteins is one of the best things you can do for your spine health. Beans and lentils are packed full of plant-based proteins, fibre, minerals, antioxidants, and vitamins. Some vegetables, such as broccoli, spinach, and kale strengthen your spine, so regularly incorporate them into your meals. Calcium, found in leafy green vegetables, supports good back health too. Even some herbs and spices are beneficial for spine health, including turmeric, basil, rosemary, ginger, and cinnamon. When it comes to fruit, the best types to choose for spine health are berries and avocados.

The earlier you start in taking steps to protect your spine, the better your health will be as you age. Taking care of your spine can prevent injuries, pain, discomfort and other problems. As anyone who has ever suffered from a back problem can tell you, it hinders your enjoyment of life. Regularly perform back exercises, practice good posture and eat healthy foods that are known to be good for the spine to keep your back as healthy as possible your whole life.