Thankful and Blessed: Reasons to Appreciate a Healthy Spine

This time of year, there are so many things to be grateful for. While the typical blessings of family, friends, house, education, etc. undoubtedly deserve to be acknowledged, now is the time to also recognize blessings that often get passed over. For instance, if you have a healthy spine, you have plenty of reasons to be thankful. What exactly does a healthy spine do for you? Continue reading to learn why you shouldn’t take this for granted and how to improve your spinal health.

Neurological Health

Your spine protects the spinal cord, the main nerve that connects the rest of them throughout the body to the brain. Basic sensations like pain, temperature, touch, and pressure depend on communication with the brain through the spinal cord. In a nutshell, the spine has an essential job, and problems in this area can negatively affect the entire nervous system with pain, numbness, tingling, and more.

Movement

If you’ve ever experienced a back injury, you likely found out quickly that any movement can become unbearable without a healthy spine. In fact, with bad enough back pain, you may become restricted to bed rest for a few days. Because of its central location and connection with all areas of the body, the spine can facilitate or complicate movement, depending on its health.

At first, the spine can seem rigid with tiny vertebrae that protect this essential nerve, but it also contains squishy discs of collagen and tendons that allow your body to move flexibly. However, if you don’t practice good posture or lifting techniques, these cushions can come out of place, triggering pain and restricting mobility.

Stability and Support

A function the spine performs that is often taken for granted is its role in spreading the weight of the body around. Instead of pressing down on one area, the cumulative mass of your bones, organs, and joints is fairly evenly distributed, allowing you to bear your weight without getting tired or uncomfortable too quickly. Obviously, those who are obese place excessive stress on their body, but without a healthy spine even those who are generally healthy wouldn’t be able to bear their entire weight disproportionately for long.

How to Improve Spinal Health

If you currently aren’t lucky enough to have a healthy spine, you can take certain steps to get it back. First, try to be active. Although rest is important after an injury, it can also make your stiff and weak. Even walking can help you stay moving and your body headed in the right direction. Second, eat nutritious foods. Other than calcium and Vitamin D, which strengthen bones, you also need to get adequate protein in your diet to support your ligaments and discs. Third, visit a chiropractor regularly, especially after an injury. This expert specializes in the nervous system and spine and is, therefore, your best resource for sorting the issue out.

Through chiropractic adjustments, your spine can be guided back into ideal alignment, taking pressure off nerves to alleviate pain, restoring healthy neurological communication, enabling more comfortable movement, and allowing you to lead a more rewarding life! This holiday season, take a moment to appreciate or work on retrieving your spinal health.

About the Author

Dr. Zinovy Chukhman or Dr. Z has more than 20 years of experience treating injuries and guiding patients through rehabilitation. At AlignRight Injury & Rehab in Dallas, he uses many methods of treatment, including techniques like flexion-distraction, Gonstead, Graston, and Thompson. Certified in all levels with the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners, he finds great satisfaction in helping patients get out of pain and back to normal function. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Z, contact us online or call our office at 972-907-2800.