BACK HEALTH For A Lifetime

Everyone talks about back pain, but what does it take to have a HEALTHY BACK? One of the main ways is to be active. A sedentary lifestyle decreases your BACK HEALTH and will likely cause back pain in the future.

"The disk appears to live and thrive on movement, and to change and die slowly through lack of it." (1)

There is a disk between each of your vertebrae. You probably have heard of a disk herniation or a slipped disk. Those often result from back trauma (especially bending/twisting your back). But disks can also break down (degenerative disk disease) over the years. So in order to avoid disk problems later in life, it is urgent to keep moving earlier in life. This can be as easy starting a walking program.

Exercise contributes to your back health in many ways:

1. It strengthens your core muscles.

2. It helps you to maintain a healthy weight.

3. It helps to increase circulation (therefore nutrition) to your disks.

4. It can improve your posture (especially upper back exercises).

5. It strengthens your legs so that you can squat more (BODY MECHANICS).

Reference:

(1). Orthopedic Physical Therapy, 3rd ed. Donatelli, RA, Wooden, MJ. Churchill Livingstone, 2001, page 305.