Helpful Tips from Our Norfolk Chiropractor
If you want to protect the most important scaffolding in your body -- your spine -- a few basic good practices will go a long way toward that goal. Here are three important ones to remember.
1. Think about your posture. Stand up straight with a slight bend in the knees and one foot slightly behind the other. When you sit, your chair should allow for a straight spine that retains its normal curvature, and the seat cushion should elevate the knees just above hip level. Keep your shoulders back and your head straight.
2. Exert yourself carefully. Try to position yourself on the same level as that heavy object you need to reach, instead of bending over or stretching on tiptoes. Bend the knees and lift with the legs while keeping the spine straight. Take special care not to twist your upper body, because the combination of twisting and lifting frequently leads to back injuries. If an object seems too heavy to move by yourself, it almost certainly is. Leave it alone until you can get a partner to help you.
3. Follow a healthy lifestyle. We tend to associate obesity with heart trouble, diabetes and hypertension, but excess weight may also stress your spine, back muscles and connective tissues. Even smoking can affect your spinal health too. Believe it or not, non-smokers heal from spinal injuries more quickly and with less pain than smokers do. Regular chiropractic checkups also support spine health by catching tiny misalignments and correcting them before complications develop.
The Place for Norfolk Chiropractic Care
Our chiropractor, Dr. Brad Robinson, can help you ensure a healthy spine and better overall health. Our Norfolk chiropractic techniques, including spinal decompression and pediatric adjustments, can help relieve or even prevent chronic or acute pain by correcting the spine's alignment as needed. Together we can keep your spine feeling fine!
What do you find your greatest challenge to spinal health? We want to hear about it!