I doubt that you already know it, but Spinal Health Week 2018 is the 21st - 27th of May.
Spinal Health Week is about two things.
The first is that there exists a lot of confusion about what chiropractic can help with, and so it is an awareness campaign designed to illustrate exactly who we see in our practices every day.
The second? In our practice, Spinal Health Week is a time every year we we ask our community to focus on how they are looking after their spine, but not just talking about being adjusted or doing rehab exercise. We want to challenge people to look at how their spinal health affects their lives as a whole, not just focus on whether they are in pain or not.
As a result, Align Chiropractic is encouraging you to make small lifestyle changes to improve their spinal health and wellbeing.
In Australia, there are 3.7 million people with back problems. Thats JUST back problems. That doesn't even take into account headaches, migraine, nerve pain, sciatica, shoulder pain, ankle sprain or the whole host of other conditions that people regularly see their chiropractor for.
So what REALLY causes back pain and other issues that chiropractors see?
In some cases, the cause of back pain can be difficult to avoid (such as in the case of an accident or injury) however, everyday habits can be a big determining factor in how well our spines may handle stress.
This year, Align will be asking our community to focus on everyday habits which can be harmful to the health of our spines and encourage small, practical steps for the better.
What is the point in only making small changes to my lifestyle?
Part of our challenge to our community is to recognise the importance of each tiny effort. Health is like exercise, you can’t get fit every day, but each time you get out there and run, or make it to the gym, you make that incremental step towards a better version of you.
There is no point trying to make many, or even just one MASSIVE change to your life from today onwards. If it is too big a leap from your daily routine then it becomes too hard to continue with and so inevitably you drop it.
Much like a new diet, its unsustainable to decide that you'll only ever eat grapefruit for every meal from now onwards in an effort to lose weight, instead the most impact comes from deciding what elements aren't ideal and take steps to make change that are realistic and most importantly SUSTAINABLE.
For this reason, we will never suggest our clients do a 180 and completely change their lives, rather we prefer to help you in identifying a 5-10 degree change in course that when followed over the next few decades helps you end up in a much better place than your old path was leading.
Never underestimate the power of simple lifestyle adjustments can have on your quality of life long term.
Adjustments such as;
- being mindful of your posture,
- being more active,
- taking breaks from mobile devices,
- a focus on sleep as well as a larger focus on sleep and,
- incorporating stretching into your daily routine
It is important to take preventative measures when it comes to spinal health and if you are already experiencing pain, it is not advisable to ignore it.
Over the next few posts I am going to attempt to address some of these concepts I have listed above so keep popping back over the next few weeks, however if you have any more specific questions on how you can approach your spinal health, please do not hesitate to contact us at Align.
Kieran
A happy life preserver because asking for help shouldn't be scary.
Also, truth be told, other stock images related to 'help' were a bit lame, not cute like this guy...and as well I thought this picture was funny because he has a shadow underneath him. Why? He is meant to be in the ocean...the shadow implies a light source above his head and that there is a floor underneath him, as if this is a photograph taken on a flat back ground rather than in water...even though its a cartoon. I'm not sure what is going on there. Anyway, if we can help you in at all, or if your are keen to know if we are the right people to help you, please get in contact.