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The spine is our primary support. It is the core of the skeleton which is the core of our bodies. The spine helps us move, walk, and run without damaging and breaking our bones immediately because of its shock absorption capability. It provides support and stability. When our spine is weak and is experiencing stress from all the work we do every day, it could significantly affect our bodies negatively. It can cause sicknesses, pain, inability to walk, run, or even just move. Daily activities could be hard to do and endure.
Poor spine health could lead to poor digestion, increased cardiovascular diseases, and nerve contractions. Our spinal health is essential because it could impact our overall health and life. According to Sara Butler, the role of the spine is to protect the central nervous system and if the spine is not capable of protecting the CNS, plenty of problems, sicknesses, and pain in our body can pop up. In addition, for our brains to work properly, it is important to maintain a healthy spine because the spinal cord carries all the information throughout our brain and body. For that reason, a healthy, happy spine helps the brain and the spinal cord to work together for our bodies to function as we need them.
Risk Factors for Spine Problems
We tend to take for granted the importance of the spine, thinking that it is not very helpful for our bodies to function properly. We tend to disregard the fact that our spine impacts our day-to-day function, our mobility, comfort, and sleep. Having a healthy spine helps us to live life to the fullest—pain and discomfort free.
It is important to know and understand the causes that could increase spinal problems and back pain. Avoiding doing this could help us live healthier and more comfortably. Some of the factors that could cause spinal problems are:
Poor posture. Poor standing and sitting posture are issues that many people have. This results in an imbalance in how one’s weight is carried and supported by the spine. This could impact the back muscles, spinal joints, and spinal discs.
Muscle imbalance. Our back muscles play a crucial role in our spine health and the back pain we are experiencing. This can be a result of poor posture.
Sedentary lifestyle. It is important to move and be active every day. Sitting and not doing anything for extended periods may cause back pain. It can weaken and stiffen our muscles in the back which we try to avoid. Stretching, adding exercises that could strengthen the core and our back muscles, and walking is what we can do to avoid living sedentary. It is a good way to maintain the health of our spine.
How Does the Spine Works
As mentioned earlier, the spine provides support, and stability to our whole body. But how does it work and function?
- The spine transfers the weight of our torso to the pelvis, hips, and legs. Our muscles are attached to the spine. Our internal organs hang from it, and our rib cage articulates on it. It provides support for our bodies.
- Moving is impossible without a healthy spine. It supports our body for us to be able to walk, run, stand, twist, and turn. It allows our body to move in any direction, and position that we want.
- Walking and running are easy with a spine because it allows us to do things without immediately damaging ourselves. It is all because the natural curve of the spine, as well as its intervertebral discs, creates a spring system. We can dance, bend, carry things, and do all the crazy stuff because of our spines.
- The spine protects the spinal cord and its associated nerve roots.
Benefits of a Healthy Spine
The biggest and the most-known benefit of a healthy spine is the reduction in the deduction of any risk regarding back injuries. If one’s spine is not healthy, back injuries may occur which can cause problems in their life. A person with poor back health might not be capable of lifting heavy things since this can make the situation worse. Bending over and picking up things might be hard. If you’re someone who’s experiencing this, better consult your doctor right away.
Another benefit of having a healthy spine is pain relief. Back pain is very common among adults that are caused by different reasons from one’s daily activities. Moreover, a healthy spine increases our energy levels, creates less tension in our shoulder and neck, decreased the risk of abdominal wearing of the joint surfaces, improved circulation, and digestion, better performances during workouts and exercises, increased self-confidence, fewer headaches, and increased lung capacity.
To achieve the benefit of a healthy spine, we must make sure to love our spine and keep it healthy. Exercising daily can help maintain our spine health. Also, wear shoes that support the spine, get massages when you feel the need to, and maintain proper posture. Always listen to your body and if you feel something is wrong, don’t hesitate to seek help from the experts.’
As it is very clear, the spine does not just affect our back body but the whole body which may cause serious problems physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Maintaining and being mindful of our spine health is important because it is a crucial part of our body that we need to be able to study, work, and live our lives. Our spines allow us to explore the wonders of life by supporting our bodies and helping us move easily and hassle-free. Without the help of our wonderful body and the spine, we are not where we are today, not enjoying our lives, and not moving. We will be living in pain, discomfort, and sadness.
Let us love our spine and not just take it for granted. It is an important part of our body. It is our primary support system.
