How to protect your spine this winter!
How to protect your spine this winter! Your Bristol chiropractic and spinal therapy team talk about – How to protect your spine in Winter! Winter can be a challenging time for all of us, from fighting off colds and illnesses to shovelling snow off the road! Please read on to find out how your bristol chiropractic and spinal health team discuss and help you learn how to protect your spine and look after it this winter. Your Bristol chiropractic and spinal therapy team suggest Wrap up as warm as possible! It might seem obvious, but there are many physiological benefits of keeping the body warm. Firstly, staying warm helps to boost circulation, this helps oxygen and nutrients to travel to joints and muscles around the body. This increase in circulation helps to repair damaged muscles and help back stiffness. This can be achieved by just simply wearing more layers. Wool and fleecy materials that are proven to assist the maintenance of body heat are great for wearing outside. As well as keeping warm, wearing the correct footwear is vital. If the correct footwear is not worn you can become vulnerable to falling or slipping over and hurting yourself, potentially causing damage to your spine. Although there is no way of removing accidental falls and slips from our lives, wearing the correct footwear will reduce the chances of this happening! Move around the house Our team of Bristol chiropractors and spinal therapists notice, staying wrapped up under a blanket on the sofa and watching Christmas films all day may seem harmless, but this can be hurting your spine and posture. Being sedentary for long periods in an incorrect position can put a lot of stress on the spine. Not only can prolonged incorrect sitting cause the appearance of the spine to change over time but can increase the wear and tear of the spine (degeneration). On the other hand, if you take regular breaks, stretch and move around regularly then this can be combated. When sitting ensure to hold your head up with your chin parallel to the floor and keep your shoulders back and relaxed. Lift correctly! Lift that Christmas tree correctly! At Reco spinal centre, like many other seasons, winter causes many people to lift Christmas trees, decorations, wood for the fire and even heavy presents! If you are not set up to lift with the correct technique, you can cause damage to your spine and your joints. To lift as safely as possible, firstly ensure the surrounding surface is suitable to begin, then keep the item close to the body, bend with the hips and knees (keeping the back as neutral as possible), put your body weight to your heels and use the power of your legs to stand (instead of your back muscles). Following these tips will help you lift as safely as possible this winter. Our team of Bristol chiropractic, and spinal therapists are always here to help you with the pain that wintery conditions can cause. From those slips and falls to that incorrect lifting, or the hecticness that can cause those ailments of back pain to resurface. Rest assured you are in safe hands with our team, so click here and book a consultation with one of our team members.