Everyday Habits That Destroy Your Spine
Back problems became more common in the 21st century and are usually caused by a sedentary lifestyle and from holding/looking at new gadgets. There may be a lot of reasons for bad posture and chronic pain, but scientists are revealing ones that we bring upon on ourselves.
For example, did you know that your job could be the leading cause of a chronic backache? A lack of rest is also bad for your posture.
Here are some the most popular habits that according to scientists, lead to a chronic backache.
Smoking
Smoking is a dangerous habit in itself. However, aside from all its other dangers, smoking can cause backaches because nicotine disrupts the normal blood flow around the spinal cord.
A disruption of circadian rhythms
Researchers found that the condition of the cells in intervertebral disks directly depend on how stable your day and night cycle is.
Scientists suppose that when our circadian rhythms are disrupted (due to age, chronic insomnia, and night shifts), these cells start to function badly which leads to chronic inflammation and makes us more susceptible to the development of pain in the lower back and the degeneration of intervertebral disks.
Other studies showed that some natural anti-inflammatory chemical substances in our bodies are better produced during the day.
So, in order to slow down the aging of the spinal cord, you should stick to a schedule that doesn’t make you a zombie in the middle of the day.
Working while standing
We’ve all heard that sitting too much is harmful. But the necessity to stand all the time can be just as harmful to your health. Just the way you stand can have a huge impact on the condition of your neck, spine, and shoulders. The wrong posture can have terrible consequences when it comes to your spinal cord, causing chronic pain and serious curvatures.
Our muscles and joints need flexibility in order to stay healthy, and bad posture is one of the first signs that you are doing something wrong. Most of the time, if your head or shoulders are in the wrong position, it means that you aren’t controlling the upper part of your body well enough. This leads to curvatures and makes your body have to compensate for the bad posture during movement. This leads to even bigger stress on the body.
In order to avoid having bad posture, we need to stand, sit and lie in ways that have the least strain on our muscles and ligaments, as well as correctly exercise the muscles that hold the spinal cord — something that we pay a particular attention during our Ballet Body Sculpture classes.
Not getting enough rest
Many of us don’t pay enough attention to the very first alarming signs like a hardly noticeable backache. However, it’s very important to take a rest every time you feel slight discomfort in your back.
Of course, you can’t always let yourself rest at such moments. But don’t forget to rest as soon as you have the time, even if the discomfort is already gone by then.
In order to reduce extra strain on your muscles, lie down and put your feet up.
A job you hate
Scientists from Australia have proven that backaches are widely spread among people who feel unhappy at their job. The researchers didn’t find any physiological problems — the pain is purely psychological.
Our mobile phones
A recent study showed that reading a simple text message can add up to 45 lb of pressure on the spinal cord. Just think about it: 45 lb just because you’re texting!
Using mobile phones every day leads to a loss of the natural curve of the cervical spine and a heavier load on this part of the back, especially in teenagers.
Scientists calculated that people use mobile phones 2-4 hours a day on average which means that our necks are bent for 700 to 1,400 hours a year.
This means that pretty soon, surgeons will have many more patients — especially teenagers — because the constant incorrect posture can lead to serious and chronic spinal curvature. So, at some point, you will realize that you can’t stand straight — and this is all because of your cell phone!
Of course, we can’t stop using the technology that makes our lives so much easier. But we can at least be mindful of how we position our bodies. The least you can do is control your posture when using the phone. Your back will thank you.
We avoid movement to not experience back pain
Don’t avoid doing exercise, especially the kind that requires the flexibility of the spine. Muscles relax when they move and stretch slowly. Our Ballet Body Sculpture classes are especially designed to improve your mobility and strengthen the core, creating the right balance in your muscles, recovering your posture as well your spine alignment. It’s important to move and be guided how to exercise correctly. Gradually increasing the number of exercises and their complexity you will improve your flexibility, strength, fitness levels, confidence and happiness!
As a quick fix try our online class : Exercise By The Desk
A perfect class for those that spend most of the day in front of the computer or lead sedentary lifestyle and have very little time to go to the studio class. In just 15 min it will help you to improve blood circulation, posture alignment, keep your mobility in the crucial arias, reducing the pain in your shoulders, neck, lower back as well and increasing energy levels and work efficiency. Level: All levels Length : 15min
Do you often have back pain? Let us know and maybe we can help to resolve it!
Source: brightside.me