Living a pain free life starts at home. Many of us think that neck and lower back pain originates from an injury. What people don’t realize is that if you are not practicing good posture and ergonomics daily, the body will be more at risk for injury. Once we start to lose the curvatures in our spine, they become weak and more likely to be aggravated by a fall or motor vehicle accident. What does this mean for you? It means you have to do your part starting at home, for the rest of your life.
Think about everything you do thousands of times a year. Everything from sleeping, getting up, cleaning, putting groceries away and even getting dressed has an impact on our bodies. Improper movements can really put a strain on your muscles and ligaments and spine. Common movements that we have to concentrate on at home are:
- Lifting
- Pulling
- Twisting
- Bending
- Pushing
When you get out of bed, do a “log roll” to getup (Turn to your side, bring down feet while lifting with your arms). When you get dressed and tie your shoes, use a chair. Reaching for breakfast items, bend at the knees and bring the weight close to your chest. Do not twist your back when carrying weight, step and pivot instead. Use a step stool to reach for high objects. When driving to work, ensure your shoulder blades are both touching the back of the car seat, use your head rest. We can get into loading and unloading groceries or yardwork, but I think you get the point. We can go on and list literally everything we do at home, work or recreational activities.
When we don’t use proper technique or posture, we start to throw bodies off balance. Thus, weakening our support system, add a fall or crash to the equation and we can be in serious pain. There is a science to our movement. Our bodies were meant to move in certain ways. For more information, come see us here at the Institute for Functional Health, live well!