Benefits of a healthy spine: Muscle People

Ensuring you have a healthy spine makes sense, because it is the key to holding your entire body together.

Your spine holds you upright and protects your spinal cord which is responsible for passing messages to and from the brain. Apart from when your parents and teachers told you to stand up straight, most people don’t put a second thought to their spine until something goes wrong and pain strikes.

The Muscle People team are experts in spine related concerns. They explain that the key to having a healthy spine is by maintaining optimum posture and movement patterns. Here are some things you might not know:

• Your spine helps you to control everyday movement such as bending and twisting. When not taking proper care of your spine (either through poor movement or poor posture), everyday tasks such as sitting, turning, bending and twisting can be very painful.
• Poor spinal posture, especially for prolonged periods of time, can change the loading on your spine and other parts of body. This can lead to degenerative changes in your spine and other joints.
• Poor posture can lead to a poor breathing technique. Correct breathing is crucial for good health, energy levels, productivity and quality of life.

In short, maintaining a healthy spine increases your quality of life, meaning you are able to do the activities you love for many years to come.

Muscle People’s top tips:

With more than 20 years of experience in physiotherapy, the team at Muscle People has a few expert tips. While there are many things that you may have been told, their absolute top tip is that our bodies were not designed to stay in one posture for hours on end. We were designed to move!

Standing:
1. Prolonged standing: If you have to stand for a prolonged period of time, remember to stand in a good posture. Imagine a string is pulling you up from the head, this will gently straighten your spine, then open up your chest and shoulders.
2. Uphill: If you are walking uphill, rather than leaning forward (as might be instinctual), place your arm behind your back and walk tall.

Sitting:
1. Positioning: Just like standing, you need to sit up straight with your shoulders gently pulled back and your bottom right back in the chair. Make sure you have a good chair and if needed, add a lumbar roll.
2. Crossing legs: If you like to cross your legs while sitting, make sure to alternate which leg you are crossing to avoid incorrect spinal curvature.
3. Breaks: No-one can sit perfectly for eight hours – remember to take regular breaks to loosen your muscles and avoid tension.

Don’t let pain persist. Muscle People are open and operating, and are ready to help get you back to your best. Get in touch today, call 0800 027 194, or book an appointment online.

www.musclepeople.co.nz