Tag Archive for spine

“What exercise is best for my spine?”

Patients often put this question to me because they usually want to do something to help them without aggravating the spinal problems they have.  Firstly, it depends on what you want to achieve; i.e.

  • General conditioning or
  • Specific strengthening

Secondly, it depends on what activities you like or are prepared to do.

Walking is a fabulous all-rounder and has a huge number of plusses.

  • Weight-bearing exercises
  • Help stimulate bone density
  • Doesn’t ‘jar’ your joints like jogging can
  • Almost  all ages can participate
  • Costs you only a decent pair of shoes and your time
  • Keeps your dog happy!

Swimming is well known to be ‘good’ for your back. This is because there is little you could do while swimming to hurt yourself (aside from drowning of course!) But swimming is unique because the water supports you and you can exercise muscles in a horizontal position that are different to how muscles are used in the vertical position i.e.

The long strap muscles either side of your spine (Erector Spinae) and the extensor muscles of the lower back and hips (Quadratus lumborum and gluteals)

Muscles that pull your shoulders back to help you stand tall ( Latisimus Dorsi and Rhomboids)

Your core stability often improves too. (An easy way of helping your tummy muscles without realizing it!)

  • Aqua-aerobics is an alternative.

Can you fix me? How long will it take?

In my nearly 15 years of practice “Can you fix me?” certainly is the most common  question…. followed by: “How long will it take?”

Honestly, I don’t like to use the word ‘fix’  as I think it gives people unrealistic expectations. Instead I will tell a person if I believe chiropractic can help them after I have assessed their situation.

Fortunately the majority of the time the answer is “Yes, I can help you”.  However,  how much I can help and how long it takes depends on a number of factors:

  • The length of time the problem has been apparent
  • The age of the person and whether there is any spinal deterioration or scar tissue
  • The person’s occupation or daily duties
  • The relative well-being and lifestyle choices of the person
  • The attitude, optimism and willingness of the person to help themselves to get well.

The most successful clients are those who not only follow our recommendations but participate in their own care and  doing what they can themselves to assist their own healing! The journey to well-being is a partnership between the practitioner and the client.

We need to understand how our body functions and what we need to do to maintain optimal health.  There is a difference between fixing our car and maintaining it or fixing our teeth and maintaining them.  This idea has not been translated well enough to our nervous system and our overall health.

Most people who seek chiropractic care are people who present with symptoms such as neck pain, headache or back pain that need some sort of help. Attempted to have their problem fixed definitely make great sense but if the person is not educated on the concept of maintaining the structure of the spine, most of the time the problems will return.

This would not be different than taking painkiller every day for headaches or back pain, muscle relaxant every day for muscle spasm or go to the dentist to get all the cavities filled instead of brushing teeth. These are not proper long term solutions to maintain the integrity of the body.

True health comes from within and needs to be maintained to function optimally. There is no doubt that there may always be a chance that something needs to be fixed but regular maintenance of healthy spine must not be ignored and essential  to avoid serious problems that might have a great cost.

See your chiropractor and get your spine check regularly!

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