The Importance of Spinal Care For Maintaining Your Daily Routines

The spine is the key structural support of the human body. It holds everything else upright day in, day out, so it’s no wonder eight percent of American adults suffer from back pain. Exercise routines often focus on arms, legs or glutes, but the muscles along the spine need care and attention to stand up to the strain of daily tasks. Spinal care treatment is a healthy way to make daily routines easier and reduce aches and pains.

PT for Maintaining Daily Routines

Physical therapy helps re-trains your entire body to make life easier. This all starts with the spine. Exercises like a simple plank, which requires an unbroken line in the spine, build the strength needed to support your bones, muscles and organs over many years.

Motions that require both strength and flexibility, such as bending to pick up the trash or reaching to hang laundry, can be especially hard on the spine. To help with this, physical therapists strengthen complementary muscle groups, like the hamstrings at the back of the legs and the core muscles of the abdomen. Keeping muscle groups in balance spreads tough tasks over more muscles, reducing tears, strains and pain.

A physical therapist can also give practical advice that will make your daily routine easier. Many people aren’t aware that the spine needs time to adjust and “wake up” after a night of rest. Your physical therapist may advise waiting forty-five minutes in the morning before attempting any exercises or tasks that require bending forward. Simple tips can go a long way towards easing stress on the spine over time.

PT for Staying Flexible and Agile

Physical therapy aims to improve the function of all the muscles of the body. The spine is at the center of these muscles, so spine flexibility and agility affect every movement you make, every second of the day.

Physical therapy exercises that help the spine stay healthy include:

• Neck rolls, which gently stretch the upper spine and trapezius muscles
• Seated rotation stretches, which keep the spine flexible on its horizontal axis
• Planks, which condition the muscles of the abdomen to support the spine
• Bird dogs, which strengthen the spinal muscles themselves (and resemble a hunting dog pointing at a bird)

If you’re looking for physical therapy near Apex, NC, you may be worried that your treatments could be as unpleasant as the back pain you’re trying to fix. Perhaps you’ve seen characters wince and suffer through physical therapy in movies or on TV.

Fortunately, that’s not the reality. Recovering from serious injuries can be painful, but physical therapy for day-to-day living aims to reduce pain. Your therapist won’t give you any exercises that make you grit your teeth. Many exercises should even feel pleasant, encouraging flexibility and releasing tension throughout the entire body.

PT for Long-Term Health and Independence

Physical therapy isn’t just for recovering from serious injury. If everyday back pain is making your daily routine difficult, find a reputable physical therapist for spinal care in Raleigh and make the health of your spine a priority.