Physical Activity for a Healthier Spine El Paso, TX.

Physical Activity to Prevent Back Pain and Weight Gain

Osteoporosis

Regular physical activity will improve the body’s:

• Balance
• Reflexes
• Coordination

This significantly reduces potential falls and injuries. Injuries from falling can be devastating for someone with osteoporosis.

Consult with your doctor before beginning any exercise program.

To help reverse bone loss, physical activity must fit the individual’s type and intensity. This will determine the appropriate exercises for your level of fitness as well as the risk of fracture.

As a way to begin walking is a great way to start a regular exercise therapy.

Walking improves bone strength because it distributes the body’s weight in a balanced manner over and over again. Bone responds best to the intensity of the walk and not the duration. Bones need to be consistently challenged as they respond by making more osteoblasts or the cellular material that fills the bone cavities. Adding these higher levels of resistance causes healthy stress to bones. This is what increases bone density.

Adding a variety of weight-bearing activities:

• Dancing
• Skating
• Aerobics
• Strength/weight training aka resistance training

OA-Osteoarthritis  & RA-Rheumatoid Arthritis

Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis are conditions that affect the flexibility of the spinal or facet joints. Flexibility, in this case, means the ability of joints to move through their normal range of motion. The amount of an individual’s range of motion is determined by how tight the muscles, tendons, and ligaments are. When muscles can stretch freely, this means the joint has better flexibility.

Low Back Pain & Possible Sciatica

To prevent low back and leg pain, the back, and hip muscles need to be flexible and strong. Individuals with poor flexibility and weak muscles in the back, pelvis, and thighs have a higher risk of increasing the curve of the lower back which can make the pelvis tilt too far forward.

Proper posture combined with flexible and strong muscles can help prevent nerve compression and pain.

Overall Health

Having healthy body composition means there needs to be more lean body mass i.e. muscle mass and less body fat. Strength training/CrossFit helps by raising the metabolic rate while lowering body fat. The increased muscle strength helps maintain correct posture and body mechanics in whatever you do.

Physical activity reduces the chance of injury while increasing physical performance like being able to climb stairs or carry groceries with much-added ease and confidence.

Exercise Suggestions

The benefits a regular exercise program offers are one of the keys to a healthier lifestyle. But take it in steps, see a health coach, physical therapist or chiropractor to help educate and guide you through an exercise treatment plan. Helpful tips:

• It can take 6 to 8 weeks to see results so focus on short-term goals.
• Work regular exercise into your schedule but keep important activities as a priority.
• Friends and relatives can help give you support and join in the exercise.
• You don’t have to do an entire workout. Instead, exercise for 10 minutes.
• Consistency in physical activity is the goal. It’s not how long or hard the exercise is.
• Keep a journal of your workouts and progress.

With the healthy changes made today, including diet choices and regular physical activity/exercise, your life will be one-hundred times better. This does not mean that you have to become an intense workout aficionado. Remember all that is needed is a reduction in weight of only 10%. This is what is needed to reduce the detrimental effects of being overweight.

Our clinical focus and personal goals are to help your body heal itself naturally quickly and effectively.  At times, it may seem like a long path; nevertheless, with our commitment to you, it’s sure to be an exciting journey. The commitment to you in health is to, never lose our deep connection to each one of our patients on this journey.

When your body is truly healthy, you will arrive at your optimal fitness level proper physiological fitness state.  We want to help you live a new and improved lifestyle. Over the last two decades, while researching and testing methods with thousands of patients, we have learned what works effectively at decreasing pain while increasing human vitality.

The *ATHLETES* Custom Orthotics | EL PASO, TX (2020)

NCBI Resources

It can be tempting to not exercise with a spinal condition. But remember that if there is no movement at all, you could make the pain worse. Knowing what your body can handle and sticking to a workable schedule, these healthy steps will relieve you and help with your low back pain.