Exercise Machines That Won’t Agitate Your Back

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If you’re living with a bad back, you might think regular gym workouts are out of the question. However, certain exercises and machines may help you get back to enjoying a pain-free lifestyle while maintaining your fitness.

How Do I Prep for Exercising With Back Pain?

Before you jump in line for a gym membership, you’ll want to make sure that you aren’t at risk for worsening your back pain or aggravating an old injury. Consult your doctor or a chiropractor before attempting any new exercise regimen, and if your back begins to hurt more as you exercise, don’t push yourself. Take things at your own pace and don’t go too hard when beginning to work out.

What Gym Machines Can Help With Back Pain?

Here are a few machines you’ll find at the gym that are low-impact and can help relieve back pain.

Elliptical

Elliptical machines are great for those with back pain because of their low impact on your spine. They provide a great cardio workout with very little stress on your joints, since they mimic natural walking without the jolt of impact once your foot hits the ground. Instead, your feet are gliding, avoiding uneven tracks and painful missteps.

Stationary Bike

Recumbent stationary bikes are excellent for those with lower back pain since the seat provides lumbar support. Upright bicycle machines may be practical for those with spinal stenosis or osteoarthritis, as the forward-leaning position may relieve some stress and feel more comfortable.

These machines strengthen the lower body with little to no impact — but make sure you find another exercise method that will adequately work out your upper body as well.

Weight Machine

Rather than solely focusing on cardio, add strength training to your workout routine to create a well-rounded gym session that will leave you feeling stronger.

If simply looking at weightlifters bend, lift, and drop those heavy barbells makes your back ache, consider weight machines. With weight machines, you can easily adjust the weight to your level, and you’re not required to bend to lift, like with free weights.

Treadmill

For those just starting to work out or returning to the gym after an absence or injury, the treadmill is perhaps the easiest piece of gym machinery to master. The rotating track is easier to navigate than an outdoor track or sidewalk, and has adjustable incline and speed so that you can start off at the pace you’re most comfortable with.

Although running on a treadmill might be too much impact for back pain, a brisk walk is all it takes to get a bit of cardio in. In order to avoid a twist in your torso that could irritate your back, try not to hold onto the side rails — use the treadmill naturally, as if you were taking a walk through your neighborhood.

Returning to the gym or even just getting started with a bad or recovering back might seem overwhelming, but consistent exercise is essential to the healing process. Consult your doctor or chiropractor to determine the right path of exercise for your situation.

At Spencer Chiropractic Center, we’re happy to discuss with you the optimal route toward healing, so contact us today for a consultation!

Integrating Chiropractic Care With Other Methods of Healing

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While chiropractic care might be the best option for you to combat chronic back and neck pain and keep your musculoskeletal system in top condition, here are three other methods of care that could be additional forms of treatment for you.

Massage Therapy

Massage therapy focuses on the body’s soft tissues through warming and loosening the body’s tendons and muscles that protect the joints and bones. Massage, especially deep tissue massage, has been proven to lower blood pressure.

Massage can also increase blood flow and positively affect connective tissues by reducing scar tissue and mineral retention, which will help promote efficient healing after injury. Additionally, massage relaxes the senses, which will assist you in forming a stronger connection between your body and mind.

By manipulating and warming the soft tissue around your musculoskeletal system, massage loosens your joints and bones, making your chiropractic session more beneficial. Stiff joints, especially during the winter, could greatly benefit from a massage session.

Infrared Sauna Therapy

Infrared saunas use heaters to emit infrared light as radiant heat. While regular saunas heat the air around you, infrared saunas heat your body directly.  Studies show that infrared sauna therapy provides a variety of benefits, such as clear skin, detoxification, tension relief, low blood pressure, and relaxation.

Sauna therapy can be a perfect treatment for chronic aches and pains, as it decreases inflammation by improving muscle relaxation and circulation. When your body’s core temperature rises, your blood flow increases, and this in turn promotes muscle recovery and decreases pain.

Similar to massage, regular visits to an infrared sauna can assist in warming and loosening stiff joints and muscles, preparing you for a more beneficial chiropractic adjustment session.

Yoga

Enrolling in regular yoga classes or performing a morning sun salutation each day can drastically improve your health and wellness. Yoga is an ancient practice that focuses on steady breathing, meditation, core muscle control, and flexibility through a variety of different poses, depending on your class.

Low-impact poses done over time can alleviate stress, lower blood pressure, and heal chronic aches and pains, particularly in your neck and back. Paired with chiropractic sessions, yoga can improve your flexibility and range of motion, leaving you stronger (and more relaxed) than ever before.

When looking for a method of healing chronic aches and pains, don’t fall under the impression that a visit to the chiropractor is the sole solution. Your body will benefit most if you opt for a combination of healing methods that work for you, and let each unique practice lift the others up and heal you more quickly and holistically. Remember to consult your doctor when starting a new health or exercise regimen.

Visit Spencer Chiropractic Center today to find out more about chronic pain treatments, or check out our website to learn more about chiropractic benefits.

Four New Year’s Resolutions to Ease Chronic Pain

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The New Year has arrived, and you may feel pressure to come up with several unrealistic resolutions that will eventually do nothing but cause you stress. Instead, you might want to focus on a few goals that are not only manageable, but will also help you feel better as a whole and reduce your pain in 2019.

Try Out Yoga

Yoga is an effective type of exercise that not only works out your body, but calms your mind as well. Taking a yoga class or even practicing a simple sun salutation before you start your day at home will keep you relaxed, stretch out your muscles, and decrease stiffness and pain. Find yoga poses that specifically target painful areas such as your neck or back for a more focused practice.

Drink More Water

Drinking water does wonders for your skin, hair, and overall health. It’s also a great way to ease your chronic pain issues. Spinal discs need water to absorb shock and function correctly, meaning that dehydration can cause neck and back pain. Without the proper amount of water to lubricate your spinal discs, their outer layers shrink, causing swelling, ruptures, and general discomfort. Although medical science does not back a magic number of ounces you need to maintain perfect hydration, a general rule of thumb is to drink half your weight in ounces (for example, if you are 160 pounds, aim to drink 80 ounces of water a day).

Work on Your Posture

Besides making yourself appear taller, leaner, and more alert, keeping good posture can decrease chronic pain. When you slouch, your muscles become stiff as they try to keep your body balanced. Good posture keeps bones and joints in correct alignment, reducing stress on ligaments and allowing muscles to work more efficiently. Try to be conscious of your posture and correct yourself when necessary, especially when sitting for long periods of time in front of a screen or riding in a car.

Take Vitamin D

If you live in the Pacific Northwest, you likely have a vitamin D deficiency. Sunlight is a significant source of vitamin D, so all our rainy and cloudy days may be preventing us from reaping its benefits. Vitamin D regulates the amount of calcium we have in our body, which is critical to maintaining strong bones and joints. Take a multivitamin or vitamin D supplement daily to help decrease bone and joint aches.

As always, if you feel like you need help managing your chronic pain, we recommend that you see a specialist. Schedule a consultation at Spencer Chiropractic Center and let us ease your discomfort and help keep you pain-free in 2019!

Top Five Worst Jobs for Chronic Back Pain

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We all know that working at an office desk all day can really mess with your back. Sitting in the same position while staring at a screen will intensify aches and pains laying dormant in your lower back and spine. However, office jobs aren’t the only careers to blame when it comes to chronic neck and back pain. Consider taking a trip to your chiropractor if you spend your work week in any one of these five occupations.

Childcare Workers

Ask any parent or nanny and they’ll tell you, the constant bending over and lifting up that comes with childcare doesn’t feel great. Bending down to keep on a little one’s level, constantly picking up and setting down a baby, or even doing one of the million other tasks that come with childcare such as dishes, meal prep, or laundry are all things that can really take their toll on one’s back. Childcare workers can practice safe lifting by bending at the knees and lifting with the arms while keeping a straight back in order to avoid sharp lower back pains, and should try to steer clear of carrying children on one hip.

Emergency Responders

Firefighters, police officers, and medic workers have some of the most stressful jobs available. These people put their lives on the line to help protect and save others. Unpredictable situations can involve heavy lifting (objects and people), and the traumatic nature of their occupation can be an obstacle in properly caring for their bodies. Emergency responders should take time to see their chiropractor to help alleviate pain and keep themselves in the best shape possible.

Warehouse Workers

Warehouse workers are no stranger to back pain. Their entire job revolves around maneuvering boxes and crates full of heavy products. According to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, the constant bending, lifting, and stacking of crates — even while operating forklifts — makes warehouse workers eight times more likely to suffer back problems than workers in other fields. Warehouse workers should practice safe lifting techniques and avoid twisting their bodies excessively.

Cab & Truck Drivers

Spending a lot of time sitting behind the wheel can cause intense stiffness, soreness, and aches. Unlike sitting in an office chair, when you drive for a living, the opportunities to get up and stretch are few and far between. Cab and truck drivers should see a chiropractor to determine the best way to alleviate their pain, since sitting for six to eight hours at a time isn’t negotiable in their careers. In the meantime, drivers can use lumbar support pillows to help with proper posture and pain relief.

Nurses

While they spend so much time taking care of other people, nurses could benefit from more self-care, as they suffer more back pain than a lot of other occupations. According to research by the American Journal of Nursing, nearly half of all nurses struggle with lower back pain. Their shifts are often longer than eight hours and mostly spent on their feet. In addition to seeking chiropractic care, nurses should make sure to wear comfortable and supportive shoes to decrease foot, leg, and back pain.

 

If your job is causing you chronic pain flare-ups, Spencer Chiropractic Center is here to help. Visit us for a consultation today!

Cold Weather and Pain: Why They’re Linked and How to Heal

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When the clouds roll in and the temperature drops, people often say they can feel it in their body’s aches and pains. Although a precise science behind this common feeling doesn’t exist, several reasons may explain why the body might be in a bit more pain during the fall and winter.

Reasons for the Pain

Increased melatonin, seasonal depression, stiff joint structures, and slow blood circulation may explain the association between cold and pain.

Increased Melatonin

Melatonin is a hormone made by the brain’s pineal gland that helps to regulate your body’s sleep-wake cycle. When the days become darker and shorter, the pineal gland releases melatonin earlier in the evening, which can cause an increase in drowsiness and lethargy. In turn, we may spend longer in bed and less time moving our bodies, making our joints and muscles feel stiff and achy.

Seasonal Depression

With the arrival of winter and the increase in drowsiness comes seasonal depression. Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a form of depression that is most prominent in the darker winter months, and is linked to a biochemical imbalance in the brain. Those who suffer from SAD may sleep excessively, feel unmotivated, and eat poorly — all factors that may contribute to physical pain in the body.

Stiff Joint Structures

In cold weather, getting out of bed might make our bodies feel like an old rusty pile of metal scraps or a rickety chair. This stiffness can be attributed to how our joint structures — such as our ligaments, tendons, connective tissue, and muscles — react to the temperature. Depending on the density of these structures, some may be tight and take a bit longer to warm up and loosen than they would in the warmer months, causing strain and tension.

Slow Blood Circulation

When the body is exposed to the cold, it works harder to maintain the heat of the core. This means that extremities, such as hands and feet, experience slower blood circulation and increased nerve pain and inflammation.

How to Help

Activities like taking frequent walks, visiting a sauna, consuming anti-inflammatory foods, and visiting a chiropractic clinic are all things that can help alleviate your pain this fall and winter.

Activity and Exercise

Although you might feel less inspired to get up and go outside when the weather is dark and gloomy, you should still try to be active and get proper exercise this fall and winter. Take advantage of dry days by taking morning or early afternoon walks around the neighborhood when it’s still light out — just make sure to bundle up! Research some stretches to do after you wake up and before bed, or even look into joining a yoga class to keep your muscles loose and the pain at bay. Going on walks will keep your body and mind active, not only helping you feel better physically, but improving your mood as well.

Sauna or Hot Tub

Spending some time in a sauna or hot tub can feel amazing on sore or stiff muscles. The cold outside causes joint structures to stiffen, and immersive heat has been proven to loosen us up and release painful tension — at least temporarily. Heat also increases blood circulation, reducing nerve pain and inflammation.

Anti-Inflammatory Foods

Foods high in sugar, gluten, dairy, and omega-6 fatty acids are all contributors to inflammation. By cutting down your consumption of pro-inflammatory foods and focusing more on a clean diet packed with leafy greens, fruits, and healthy fats, you will feel better in no time. Don’t restrict yourself too harshly, though; you should be able to enjoy the holidays — just in moderation!

Chiropractic Care

We know winter months can be especially hard on your joints and muscles, and we’re here to help. Visit us at Spencer Chiropractic Center for an evaluation to ease your discomfort and learn about how to lessen your pain this fall and winter.