Our daily habits, rather than acute actions, are what set us up for pain

Many people are able to point to a time when they, “threw their back out,” or “cricked their neck,“ blaming a specific action like lifting or an excessive motion in sport on their injury. But the injury might not have happened in the first place if we had not already been practicing bad spinal health habits. These habits, highlighted below, are often subconscious, and form part of a chronic problem that contributes to back pain and leaves us vulnerable to injury. Read on to find out what habits we need to be aware of if we want to avoid back pain. 

Daily habits that reinforce back pain

• Everything to do with office work: from the commute, to poor ergonomics and posture, to the many hours spent sitting, your office is a danger zone for your back. You need to be ultimately proactive about moving and stretching on the job to maintain circulation and keep tension at bay. 
• The 21st century sedentary lifestyle: you are a netflix addict, which means that after a long day at the office, you spend a long evening seated watching your favorite show, reinforcing the risk factors that contribute to tension and pain in the back. Make sure you work in at least 30 minutes of purposeful stretching and yoga for your back. 
• Your mattress: it’s time to stop ignoring that dip in the middle- the lower it gets the less support your spine has during a period that is supposed to be about restoration. 
• Your footwear: your shoes represent the first layer of defense for your spine- choosing fashion over function is not doing your back any favors.
• You sweat the small stuff: the relationship between stress and back pain is well-documented. Mental stress contributes to muscle tension which pulls your back out of alignment and causes pain. The end result is, you guessed it, more mental stress. 

A resource for embattled spines in Sacramento 

If you feel buried under a mountain of bad habits and back pain, we can offer you a path toward flipping this script. Our natural, restorative modalities help address the mess that you’ve gotten your back into, allowing you to focus on the bad habits that got you there in the first place. We are experts in ergonomics, posture, rehabilitative exercise and stress relief and we want to help you prioritize your back pain. If you are interested in finding out more, give our office in Sacramento a call to schedule an appointment today.