Make spinal health a goal

With the arrival of the new year, you’re probably starting to think about your New Year’s resolutions. The most common ones people think of are weight loss, quitting smoking, and exercising more, but why not make spine health a goal? Improving spinal health can decrease back pain and help prevent it from recurring.

Here are five ways you can improve your spinal health in 2015:

1. Lose Weight: Carrying around extra weight increases the stress on your spine and joints, leaving you susceptible to injury.
2. Improve your posture: poor posture leads to a loss of normal alignment of the spine, causing increased stress/strain on your muscles and ligaments resulting in pain.
3. Regular exercise: regular exercise can strengthen the muscles surrounding your spine and decrease back pain.
4. Don't sit at your desk all day: sitting at the computer all day may leave you hunched over, resulting in increased stress on the spine. Take frequent breaks to change your position and watch your posture to decrease stress on your spine.
5. See your chiropractor : Prevention is always the best form of defense.  Get your spine checked regularly and have small issues corrected before they become symptomatic.