Staying Healthy is More Than Your Diet, Exercise and

Mental Health

Healthy lifestyle is all the rage
It seems like everywhere you look today people are going out of their way to be healthy. People are running, biking doing yoga in the park, eating only organic foods and avoiding putting things in their body that are unhealthy. Mental health is also on the rise with more people trying to destress with meditation and avoiding things that make them anxious. All this in an attempt to stay healthy and live a longer better life. What I see though is a huge piece of the puzzle being missed and that is spinal health.

Spinal Health

When I discuss spinal health with patients the usual reaction is a blank stare or they say, “I do yoga” or “I keep my shoulders back”, because truly no one has been taught to keep their spine healthy. The spine may be the most important part of the human body. It supports 2/3 of the bodies weight. It protects the spinal cord ensuring that the nerves can keep the body functioning. Without it there would be no function. Yet the only time people pay attention to their spine is when it’s hurting. Up until that point they assume its fine because it doesn’t hurt. Reality is that the daily activities that we perform are constantly putting stress on the spine and that stress results in eventual pain.

Daily Activities Damage the Spine

We’ve all seen the kids staring straight down at their tablet or phone for hours or sitting slumped in their gaming chairs. Childhood sports also place a huge demand on a young spines. Computer work and sedentary work environments are far too common these days. The modern life style makes the body weak and the spine weaker. Improper spinal position over may years will produce wear and tear on the bones, joints and discs in the spine and eventually they will wear out.

An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure

What if we taught kids to keep their spine in the normal position and maintain a good strong posture and what if Chiropractors were the spinal dentist and actively worked to keep young spines as close to normal as possible. We would probably see a drastic reduction in spine related pain over a couple decades. Spine surgeries would drop off and pain medication usage for spinal pain would become rare. At Pivonka Health and Wellness in Gilbert Arizona this is exactly the type of care we provide. We strive to educate patients on spinal health and encourage kids to keep their spine maintained. The hope is that with this type of education these kids won’t suffer with the pain that adults of today are dealing with.