Spinal hygiene – behaviours to keep motion and health of our spine in peak condition – is vital, yet regularly overlooked by many. Spinal hygiene includes stretching, strengthening, posture correction, strength, better lifting technique, less sitting and so much more.
Efforts toward spinal hygiene need to be engaged in daily, for life. It is as critical for the health of the spine as brushing teeth is for the health of our teeth.
We would argue the regular assessment by a chiropractor (and adjustments if deemed necessary) are a critical element of spinal hygiene!
It is so clear that the way many of us choose to live in our current society, and the behaviours and activities we choose to engage in most of the time lead to severe stress on our spine.
This includes the relatively sedentary lifestyles we lead, including the amount of sitting we accept as ‘normal’ in our day to day lives and the poor posture that many of us live with.
This is why back pain and degeneration are so common.
Part of the problem here is that the spine is so resilient and able to withstand or adapt to so much adversity, that we are rarely aware of problems until they have become deeply advanced.
The outcome in the first instance is ‘vertebral subluxation complex’ or segmental movement deficiency syndrome.
If we accept the overwhelming evidence of the importance of movement to our body and brain function, and the serious negative consequences of LACK of said movement, it becomes clear that a daily program of spinal hygiene exercises (and with this, becoming more conscious of how we use our spines) is essential to begin to counter the effects of our lifestyle choices.
We need to take charge of our own health and make time for ‘self-care’ where we engage in protective and preventative behaviours.
This makes perfect sense if we make compare and contrast the level of awareness, focus and commitment we put into the health and hygiene of our teeth/oral health with our awareness, focus and commitment to the health and hygiene of our spine! There is a CLEAR difference for most of us – with the spine taking a ‘back seat’ for many.
- We brush and floss every day to prevent and/or reduce the likelihood of having a more serious dysfunction (gum disease or tooth cavity) develop (this is ‘self-care’)
- We regularly visit a Dentist to assess the health and hygiene of our mouth and teeth, to be proactive in identifying potential issues before they become more serious, and to learn better information or strategies to reduce the likelihood of oral ill-health (this is consulting a true health-care professional)
- At least every 6 months we seek the dentist’s help with a ‘clean’ – a preventative action to keep our mouth in the best shape possible (this is also using the services of a health care professional – the key is regular and consistent use of such profession support)
If we didn’t eat the kinds of food or drink that we do, live in such ‘on the go’ lifestyles with high levels of stress and poor microbiome states, it would be way less necessary for us to do this!
Chiropractors are the skilled professionals to help with proactive and preventative care of your spine.
Consulting a chiropractor regularly and receiving adjustments if they are deemed clinically necessary is very important for maintaining the health and hygiene of your spine and nervous system.
If we only visit a chiropractor when we are in pain for a 'fix' this is the same as only visiting a dentist when we are in pain to 'fix' a long-standing deeper cavity that has broken through the surface layers of the tooth over time and is now in a MUCH worse state - this requires more intensive and significant 'care' to resolve that being preventative and proactive in the first place!
