August is National Wellness Month! At Petersen Neurospine, we want all of our patients, family members and friends to live their healthiest lives. Below are five ways you can improve your well-being and spine health during National Wellness Month and beyond.
Stretch
When it comes to improving your wellness, stretching is something you can easily add to your daily routine. And, if you’re already a patient of Dr. Petersen’s you already know how important we believe stretching is to your overall health, especially for that of your back, neck and spine. Aside from preserving mobilitty, stretching helps to keep your muscles flexible and strong, protecting them from injury. It’s also a great way to relieve stress and muscle tension.
Wellness Month Challenge: For the next seven days, spend 10-15 minutes stretching your back and body. We recommend doing half of your stretches in the morning to help wake your body up and half in the evening to help your mind and body wind down. Don’t know where to start? Try these five stretching exercises to relieve lower back pain.
Take Deep Breaths
Let’s face it – we all get stressed out from time to time. Often when we are stressed, we hold our breath or take much shallower breaths than normal. This can cause muscle tension and pain, most commonly in your neck and shoulders. There are many breathing techniques, from the Breath Focus Method to the Modified Lion’s Breath, that you can try.
Wellness Month Challenge: The next time you’re stressed, try a new breathing technique. Different techniques work for different people, so don’t be discouraged if your first attempt doesn’t give you the results you’re looking for.
Make Healthier Food Choices
Diabetes, high cholesterol and obesity can all be detrimental to your spine health and overall well-being. It’s never too late to make healthier food choices, whether that means adding more vegetables to your diet, prioritizing your protein intake or decreasing your overall caloric consumption.
Wellness Month Challenge: On your next grocery store run, give yourself a little extra time to look at the nutrition labels on pre-packaged produce and other items. Using these labels is a great way to find out exactly what’s in your food and how much you should be consuming.
Get Massage
From lowering blood pressure and improving immune function to relieving muscle soreness and increasing circulation, there are so many spine-healthy benefits to getting a massage.
Wellness Month Challenge: BOOK THAT MASSAGE! You deserve it.
And lastly…
See a Spine Specialist
Nearly everyone will experience back or neck pain at some point in their lives, which is why it’s important for everyone to understand their spine and how it works. This understanding will help you to prevent injuries and the longevity of the health of your spine. And, there’s no better way to get that information than to consult with a spine specialist like Dr. Petersen. Request an appointment here.
ABOUT PETERSEN NEUROSPINE
Dr. Bendt P. Petersen is an orthopaedic and neurospine surgical specialist with over twenty years in operative clinical practice. He is a fellowship-trained surgeon whose practice is the only one in the Mobile-area devoted exclusively to the treatment of your spine.
The Center for Spine Health employs the most advanced operative and nonoperative therapies in concert with the most highly-trained physical therapists and other advanced ancillary practitioners to help you live the life you want to live.