Judi Singleton has had back problems all her life since as a child she fell down a flight of stairs,then it seemed she reinjured her back many times. So this is a combination of what I have learned over the years of having a pain free back.
A lot of this I leaned from the physical therapy that I attended. Much has been learned by studying on my own to get pain relief without addictive pain medication. Now you know more about me and my motivation to write let's see what I really have learned.
I have found that 4 major things play an important part in your spines health.
First, there is posture. I know this is not the first time you have heard this, but it needs to be said again and again.
Posture should be noted in sitting, standing, and sleeping. Start taking note of your posture at all times. If it is not straight, then start working on fixing it.
If you sleep in a position like I have in the past, with both hands under your pillow while you lay on your side, you can pinch a nerve in your neck if your shoulder of the arm that's up starts to relax and leans in toward your head or neck. It would be better to lay your arm of your upper hand down on your leg while one hand is under your pillow.
And if you can, buy a few different thickness pillows for throughout the night. I do not know about you, but I can not have a high, fluffy pillow when I lay on my back. But a thin pillow gives me neck ache when I lay on my side.
The second thing on our list is the flexibility of your back.
What you want to do when you notice your back goes out a lot and you experience pinched nerves, is in getting your spine back into alignment and having it flexible.
Of course if you feel a chiropractor is your best choice, by all means seek one. But think about your progress if you could align your own back when ever you needed to. It's not all that hard!
If you are in pain at the present, put ice or heat on the spot until the pain seems to lessen.
Do NOT, under any circumstances exercise while any of your nerves are inflamed or swollen!
To get your back more flexible you might want to learn kundalini yoga. Not all yoga styles are like those you may have seen on television, where they twist themselves up. Kundalini yoga has very good and useful spinal exercises developed to help flexibility. Kundalini Yoga is also a spiritual tool to help before meditation as well.
It is very important to strengthen your back and the surrounding muscles. This is the third step to a healthy back.
Doing sit-ups is one such exercise, You do not have to do many sit-ups until you feel you can... step by step.
Take all of these things slow and at the pace of your body. Your body will let you know what it is feeling. Pain is a warning sign.
Just remember... taking pain pills is okay when you really need them. But also remember that they do not heal the problem, they only mask the warning sign, they simply stop the warning sign, but not the underlying problem.
Health is more than just eating right. One has to consider mental health, environmental, and many other factors. It is not all that easy for a doctor to diagnose the complete problem and cure it, especially if it has roots in psychological issues and has gone a long time unchecked, and became a physical problem.
The fourth and last step in back health is to start a daily stretching routine. You have
seen cats and dogs stretch when they get up, try it for yourself!
The key to back health is in keeping it actively flexible and strong, or well supported by the stomach and back muscles. You may have to find that happy medium in between like I have, being too much strength in one area will pull out another.
Each person is uniquely different in many areas. So never think what worked for someone else is going to work for you. You may have to build on someone else's information and work it into your own, personal program.
I recommend you learn a little about acupressure as well to maintain your pain when it flares up.
I have found that I can manage pain by using acupressure, simply by putting pressure on certain areas of the body. But that is something I suggest you seek a professional for help, or look for someone who does acupuncture, or take a course in acupressure like I did.
I sought chiropractic help, my I visited my chiropractor at least once every two weeks, my doctor sent me to a wonderful physical therapist who worked with me using a combination of Pilates, yoga, belly dancing, a water exercises. Building my core stomach muscles to carry the back muscles helped a lot.
if you’re looking for foods that reduce back pain and are high in nutrition, try carrots, beets, sweet potatoes, cherries, berries, grapes and red wine, pomegranate, and watermelon. Herbs and spices, including basil, cinnamon, ginger, rosemary, garlic, curcumin, onions, oregano, and turmeric tend to be especially rich in anti-inflammatory agents, so season generously. Also, drink healthy herb teas and true teas (green, oolong, and white). Avoid coffee, sugary foods, the nightshade family, (Potatoes, tomatos, eggplant. This is hard for me as I love all these veggies.)
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