Blog
Text Neck: An Insidious Byproduct of the Tech Age
Smartphones optimize our lives while hurting our spines
Smartphones have become the predominant tool of modern life. While its ability to streamline hundreds of functions into a pocket-sized computer is admirable, it is also causing grief for our spine. The subconscious posture that many of us adopt when using our phones is dangerous when combined with frequent usage. Studies have estimated that teens spend up to 2-4 hours on their phone per day, which may help explain why spinal degeneration is affecting younger demographics more than in the past. Smartphones indulge us instantly and satisfy our ever-curious minds, but it is worth asking if that comes with a price.
Managing Daily Spinal Misalignment
Your spine is misaligned as we speak
This is no hyperbole, but neither is it cause for panic! The spine is not one long rigid bone; if it were, you would scarcely be able to move. In reality, your spine is accentuated by spinal motion segments which, according to their location in the spinal column, are responsible for different kinds of motion. For example, the cervical and lumbar regions provide for stability, while the thoracic vertebrae are designed to facilitate the flexion, extension and rotation of the upper body. Understanding your spine as a mosaic of moving pieces helps explain why it is constantly becoming unaligned and realigned. The problems begin when misalignments create uneven development of the musculature, or contribute to muscle tension and trigger points.
The Merits of Natural Pain Relief
Chronic pain is epidemic
Chronic pain is a brutal reality: it alters lifestyles and puts people at its mercy. People living with chronic pain often complain that they feel the pain is in the driver’s seat of their life. And in the maelstrom of chronic pain, people often feel forced to seek relief from pain medication. The other alternative, it would seem, is to tough it out until the pain subsides a bit. But few people can afford the mental anguish and time that it takes to “grin and bear,” the pain. So we reach for pills, which are effective at masking symptoms but do little to address the underlying cause of the pain.
The Responsible Office Worker Takes Control of Their Own Health
Don’t let repetitive strain injuries be your fate
If you work in an office, take a second to appreciate the amount of time you spend in front of a computer. It simply isn’t natural! And while we can hardly expect to be laboring away in fields the way our ancestors were, we have to understand that sitting is not a natural position for the human spine. It loads the intervertebral discs with more pressure than most other positions, and the burden is magnified by poor posture. What’s more, many of the actions we do while working in an office setting contribute to microtraumas in the joints. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a great example of repetitive stress trauma that besets many office workers.
A New Year’s Health Resolution You Can Keep
Looking for an easy way to improve your health this new year?
Start with hydration. Water is an essential ingredient of life and too many of us take this for granted. Some studies estimate that as much as 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. Every system in the body relies on H2O to function smoothly. It’s really time to ask: by foregoing hydration, what are you really doing to your body?
Holiday Travel Tips Help Keep your Spine in Line
The traveler’s worst nightmare: back pain
Many of us are winding down the last few days at work before packing the family in the van or onto the plane for a trip to spend the holidays with family or friends further afield. But travel represents a threat to people with back pain: the hours of sitting required to get from point A to point B deaden your circulation, stiffen your muscles and intensify your already palpable back pain. This holiday season, instead of accepting your traveling fate, be proactive to prevent pain.
This Holiday Season, Combat Stress with Physical Activity
Cheer or fear: the holiday season can induce both feelings…
The extent to which one or the other predominates is probably going to have a profound effect on your stress levels during the holiday season. Yes, there is plenty of good cheer to go around, but there is also the dark side of consumerism to contend with, the financial strain on the wallet, and the myriad christmas engagements that put a strain on your schedule. It’s no wonder that we sleep and exercise less, and eat poorly during the holidays; all of this put together is the perfect recipe for the S-word: stress.
Taking Care of your Back this Holiday Season
Balancing chronic back pain with the cheer of the holiday season…
…can be a difficult task. December is a month of additional stress for the spine. At Family Chiropractic and Spinal Health Care Center, we have identified a number of risk factors which are unique to the holiday season:
- Normal routine is thrown out the window: juggling christmas engagements can cause stress which then causes muscle tension.
- Booze and inflammatory ingredients abound: our normal dieting patterns also suffer during the holidays, when we drink more alcohol and eat more inflammatory ingredients such as sugar and saturated fat.
- More lifting: we tend to perform more lifting activities during the holidays. From lifting younger relatives, to cutting and hauling the Christmas tree, your spinal balance is threatened by an increase in bending and lifting activities.
- Exercise levels go down: there can be simply no time to fit in your regular exercise activities.
These are just a few to get you started- we are sure you can identify more ways that the holidays put your spine under threat. A heightened sense of awareness will help you navigate the perils of the holiday season so that you can enjoy the holiday cheer without hurting your back too much.
Stretching in the Living Room
When it comes to adding more movement into your life, there is no easier or more purposeful way to do it than practicing simple yoga poses. The child’s pose is a movement that can be done in your living room during a commercial break and it provides you with innumerable health benefits, especially for sufferers of low back pain. When watching TV, have a yoga mat or towel nearby that you can throw down on the floor for a quick stretch when the time is right.
The child’s pose, benefits:
Stretches hips, thighs and ankles
Lengthens and stretches spine, thereby relieving neck and back pain.
Calms mind and body
Eases anxiety and stress
Increases circulation
Release tension from the shoulders, back and chest.
Think of your body accumulating tension and tightening as you binge watch Breaking Bad. Three minutes at the end of each hour breaks the build up of tension and restores your body to a semblance of health. Here is how you do child’s pose:
With knees touching, kneel on the floor, with your buttocks touching your feet.
exhale and rest your torso over your thighs, touching your forehead to the ground.
lift the buttocks slightly and stretch your arms over the head, touching your palms to the floor, until you feel shoulder blades stretching.
You can rest in this position for up to 3 minutes or as long as you can handle it. At Family Chiropractic & Spinal Health Care Center, we seek to help people find simple ways to add movement back into their life. Without too much exertion, you can let your body and mind relax with simple stretches that defeat the accumulating damage of a sedentary lifestyle. Call our office in New Jersey at (201) 995-9900.
Dr. Moe Abtahi, D.C.
Stretching on the Job
How to be a professional…sitter?
Think of all the time you spend commuting, working, sitting in front of the TV. Look around on the bus, the airplane, the train; how are people sitting? To be sure, a good percentage are looking down at phones. Whatever the setting, sitting for a long period of time, even in good posture is going to leave you stiff. So if work or relaxation calls upon you to sit for large swaths of time, use computer and desk stretches to relieve muscle tension and ease the burden on the lower back.
The most important piece of stretching in front of the computer is repetition. Do whatever it takes to make periodic stretching breaks the norm. Set a timer for an hour, or write yourself a sticky note; anything it takes to get you moving.
Here are some stretches that take just a few seconds but can make all the difference:
- Clasp your hands together in front of you, with palms facing outward and arms fully extended, and stretch by pushing your fingers against the backs of your hands.
- Do this same motion above your head and lightly lean over to each side for a few seconds.
- Shrug your shoulders and shake your hands for a few seconds.
- Put one leg over the other and then gently twist your body the opposite direction.
These stretches combined take under 5 minutes out of your busy day. Performing them once an hour can provide you with an immeasurable upside: even your brain will work harder. At Family Chiropractic & Spinal Health Care Center, we know that posture and motion are secrets to spinal health. We want people to be aware, at all times, of the things they are doing to harm their backs. Call our office at (201) 995-9900 to schedule an appointment today.
Dr. Moe Abtahi, D.C.