Have you ever known someone who said all they did was sneeze or cough or just bent over and suddenly suffered an acute episode of neck pain or back pain? Maybe this has happened to you? Maybe it was so bad that it laid them or you up for days causing missed work, missed income and missed life during the recovery process.
Unfortunately, phrases and problems such as these are all too commonly seen in a chiropractic office. Perhaps it was from brushing teeth, simply standing up from the sitting position, or bending over to pick something up and not being able to stand back up, but too many people have experienced something along these lines.
FACT: An estimated 80% of U.S. adults will have at least 1 episode of debilitating Low Back Pain at some point in their adult lives.
So, the question is:
What can I do to help prevent these things from happening?
- Stretch it out! If you work at a desk job or are in school and are stationary for a good portion of your day, be sure to get up and stretch throughout your day. With more physically challenging jobs that require bending, lifting and twisting, stretching can help “loosen things up” to prevent injury. Different jobs, activities and sports may have different demands but all benefit from being stretched out for maximum function and range of motion.
- Strengthen! By doing some simple weight lifting or exercises to help strengthen and retrain the muscles in your back or neck, especially your “core” muscles, you can help prevent re-injury or reoccurrence of pain. As we age or become sedentary with adulthood we lose muscle mass and strength and thus the ability to perform activities without injury.
- Regular chiropractic adjustments! By regular, it could be weekly, monthly, or just 4 times per year. Everyone’s body is different and requires a different level of “maintenance.” Just like some cars need their tires aligned every 3 months and some need their oil changed every 6 months depending on age or how often the car is driven, your spine may need “re-aligning” more or less often than your neighbor’s depending on your age, health status, weight, level of activity, diet and genetics! Doctors of Chiropractic are trained to not only fix but educate on these types of problems and help avoid these problems now and into the future.
If you do sneeze, cough, or lean over and feel anything unusual, be sure to get in to see us as soon as possible to help fix the problem quickly now and prevent pain or further injury in the future.
Discuss any questions or concerns with us when you come into our office. Ready for an appointment with Dr. Ferez? Schedule one today!