Dr. Stefano Sinicropi, M.D.

St. Patrick’s Day is on the horizon, and while luck may soon be in the air, there are a number of things that you shouldn’t leave up to chance. One of those things is your spine health. Some people can end up having a healthy spine through no real concentrated effort of their own, but you’re much more likely to avoid chronic injuries or spinal discomfort if you are proactive about your spine health. In today’s blog, we share some tips for taking luck out of the equation when it comes to your spine health.

Avoid Bad Luck Back Injuries

While you’re never going to be able to completely eliminate the possibility of back pain or an unlucky injury, you can work to greatly reduce your risk of certain back problems by taking a few simple steps. Here are some steps you can take to avoid leaving your spine health up to luck.

• Regular Exercise – While exercise is inherently stressful on your body and can increase your risk of certain injuries if you overwork an area or suffer a fall during a workout, exercise is immensely important for the long-term health of your spine. Exercise is what helps to develop key muscles that support and stabilize your spine, which ensures that you can handle the rigors of daily movement. Vary your workouts and give your body some time off so that you don’t risk an overstress injury, but staying active and getting regular exercise are some of the best things you can do for your spine health.
• Eat Right – What we put in our body can help to fuel it or serve to negatively affect key spine structures. Eating a healthy diet full of vitamins and nutrients will ensure that our spinal joints are functioning as expected and our bones are getting enough calcium to aid in new bone production. Poor dietary choices can lead to spinal inflammation or weight gain, which can force your spine to handle more stress due to your added weight. Both inflammation and weight gain can make normal movements uncomfortable and speed up other issues like spinal disc degeneration.
• Mind Your Posture – Sitting in a chair may not seem like a very physical task, but it can be very hard on your spine if you are not careful. If you’re slouched in your chair or hunched forward, your lumbar spine or neck area may be forced to handle additional strain as a result of your poor posture. Over time this static pressure will add up and can speed up natural structural degeneration. Always be mindful of your posture when you’re seated or standing and make simple adjustments if you notice that you are out of alignment.
• Stop Small Problems – Most people will experience small issues with their back at some point in their life, and while that’s normal, that doesn’t mean you should just keep going on with your day like nothing has changed. Be mindful and care for your discomfort so that it can resolve quickly. If you continue to do the same actions that led to discomfort in the first place, the injury will more than likely worsen instead of getting better. Proactively treat your spine pain or reach out to a doctor at the first sign of an issue so that it doesn’t snowball into a major injury.
• Be Active – We touched on the importance of exercise in the first bullet point, but we also want to talk about the importance of staying active. Living a sedentary life can weaken your spine and leave it more susceptible to injuries, and relying heavily on non-active treatments like rest or medications may limit your recovery after an injury. Instead, throw yourself into active treatments like physical therapy, or find ways to get off your butt and be active to keep your spine muscles tested and strong. Find little ways to be more active throughout the day, even if it’s not in the form of specific exercise, and your spine will be stronger because of it.

We hope you have a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day, and if you want to work to take luck out of the equation and prioritize your spine health going forward, reach out to Dr. Sinicropi and the team at The Midwest Spine & Brain Institute today at (651) 430-3800.

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