In any given three-month period in the United States, one in four adults has a day with back pain. More seriously, 8% of adults have high-impact back pain that limits their lives. And the numbers surrounding neck pain aren’t any better — it has a prevalence rate of about 30%.
The point of these statistics is to illustrate that the collective spine health in the US and around the world isn’t all that great, and many people could benefit from some spine-healthy practices.
To that end, the team at Glaser Pain Relief Center, led by Dr. Jeffrey Glaser and Dr. John Zheng, is using this month’s blog to review some best practices when it comes to reducing chronic pain in your spine, whether you’re dealing with back pain or neck pain.
Anytime you have pain in your spine, and it shows no signs of going away after a few days of rest, it’s always a good idea to have spine experts like the team at Glaser Pain Relief Center take a look.
Not only can we help bring you immediate relief from your discomfort through one of our interventional treatments, we can also assess what you’re up against. This early intervention is important, especially if you’re dealing with wear-and-tear conditions, such as arthritis, spinal stenosis, or degenerative disc disease.
By acting quickly, we can help you slow the degenerative processes in your spine through targeted treatments and a few of the lifestyle changes we outline below.
As important as our medical treatments are, so, too, are exercises that strengthen the muscles surrounding your spine. When you strengthen your core muscles, you take some of the pressure off of the 33 vertebrae and 23 discs in your spine, which can prevent chronic spine pain and slow degeneration.
To get started, here are some great spine exercises and stretches.
People spend an average of 7-9 hours in their beds, so you want to make sure that your spine is well supported when you sleep. This means getting a firm mattress that doesn’t sag and using a pillow that doesn’t crank your neck up. You want your spine to be in a neutral position as much as possible when you sleep.
As people migrate to more sedentary lifestyles with loads of sitting and staring down at screens, spines are paying the price. Long hours spent in a seated position can wreak havoc in your spine as it loads the pressure onto your lower back and neck.
If you’re sitting a good deal, avoid slouching, keep your computer monitor or other screen at eye level, and get up at least once every hour to move around and stretch.
If you’re carrying extra pounds, your spine is doing more heavy lifting than it was designed for, and this can lead to premature degeneration and painful long-term spine issues. There are many reasons why achieving a healthy weight is desirable — from reducing your risks for heart disease to freeing up the extra load on your spine.
If you’d like a more tailored plan for addressing chronic spine pain that meets your needs and goals, we invite you to sit down with one of our specialists at Glaser Pain Relief Center. To get started, contact our office in Encino, California, to schedule an appointment today.
