Spinal Hygiene

Get to Know and Understand Your Back

Understanding your spine and how it works and moves is critical to finding the right back pain treatment when back pain or injury creeps in. People don’t really think about their spines until back pain rears its ugly head. The spine is not one continuous structure that extends from the neck to the tailbone. It is an intricate, complex group of several structures. Understanding the spine can help individuals make informed decisions before getting involved in activities that can cause a spinal injury.

Anatomy

The spine is made up of 24 vertebrae; these are the bones stacked on top of each other and form the spinal column.

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The spinal cord passes through the vertebrae, which act as a protective frame. The spinal column surrounds the spinal cord like an electrical cord. It protects the nerves that run from the brain, through the spinal column, and out to the rest of the body. The spinal cord is the highway of nerves that carry the brain’s signals to the rest of the body, allowing the ability to move the arms and legs, etc. The intervertebral discs are the soft, spongy shock absorbers between the vertebrae.

They keep the vertebrae separated so smooth function, and movement is possible. Because the spine is such a complicated network of bones, discs, muscles, nerves, and ligaments, getting to the bottom of exactly what’s wrong when back pain sets in can be a complicated process. This is where having some knowledge of your spine can help a doctor or chiropractor figure out what’s going on and then develop the best treatment plan possible.

Time

Dealing with time can be a tricky issue when suffering from back pain. When only soreness, stiffness, and muscle stress occur every so often, then time can be the best medicine, as rest is all that is needed for the swelling to go down. But when the pain does not go away with rest and worsens, waiting for evaluation is not an option. Imagine all those complex spine structures as dominos in a row. If one domino/disc falls or slips, pressure is placed on all the other domino/discs to work harder to support the failing structure. But they can only do this for so long until the other discs or other body areas begin to fail. Left untreated will eventually cause the failure of other structures of the body.

Strong Spine

It was designed to support the entire body combined with our additional weight. It deserves care and respect. Unfortunately, it is not made of titanium and is susceptible to injury.

Spinal Nerve Compression

When a spinal nerve gets compressed, entrapped, or pinched, it becomes inflamed, and pain sets in. In the illustration of a neck spine segment, many different disorders are causing the nerveΒ compression in this instance:

  • Herniated disc
  • Thickened ligament
  • Bone spurs called osteophytes

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Making sure to pay close attention to your spine will safeguard it. So spend some time to understand how your spine operates.Β  Looking at some basic yoga for back poses can be a great start to understanding how your spine functions.

What is Yoga?

In its purest form,Β it is an ascetic and spiritual discipline that comes from Hindu culture. It involves simple meditation, breath control, and performing body postures. While an ancient practice long used for spiritual and emotional healing and physical wellness, yoga has been adopted in western culture and widely accepted as a form of fitness and a therapeutic practice used for relaxation and overall good health. It focuses on inward healing with outward results.

People who practice regularly find they are:

  • More centered
  • Handle stress better
  • More flexible
  • Have better mobility
  • Have stronger, leaner bodies

Reduce Pain with Foot Orthotics

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Kent S. Greenawalt, President and CEO of Foot Levelers, discusses how custom foot orthotics can help reduce back pain, low back pain, and sciatica. In a recent research study published by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine (ACRM), researchers demonstrated that Foot Levelers custom foot orthotics help considerably reduce back pain and several of its associated health issues.
The research study also demonstrated that Foot Levelers’ custom foot orthotics and chiropractic care help tremendously reduce low back pain and sciatica. Foot Levelers’ custom foot orthotics and chiropractic care helped improve the patient’s overall health and wellness. Dr. Jimenez is a chiropractor in El Paso, TX, who can help provide these benefits through the utilization of chiropractic care and Foot Levelers custom foot orthotics, among other treatments.

NCBI Resources

The spine is a complex structure. Understand that the spine is also surrounded by fibrous and muscular supporting structures, intervertebral discs, the spinal cord and nerve roots, and blood vessels. Injuries such as a back sprain or strain caused by improperly lifting and twisting simultaneously can often cause back pain. Chiropractic care is a well-known, alternative treatment option utilized to prevent, diagnose and treat various injuries and conditions associated with the spine, primarily subluxations or spinal misalignments.

Post Disclaimer

General Disclaimer *

Professional Scope of Practice *

The information herein on this entire blog site is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified healthcare professional or licensed physician and is not medical advice. We encourage you to make healthcare decisions based on your research and partnership with a qualified healthcare professional.

Blog Information & Scope Discussions

Our information scope is limited to Chiropractic, musculoskeletal, physical medicines, wellness, contributing etiological viscerosomatic disturbances within clinical presentations, associated somatovisceral reflex clinical dynamics, subluxation complexes, sensitive health issues, and/or functional medicine articles, topics, and discussions.

We provide and present clinical collaboration with specialists from various disciplines. Each specialist is governed by their professional scope of practice and their jurisdiction of licensure. We use functional health & wellness protocols to treat and support care for the injuries or disorders of the musculoskeletal system.

Our videos, posts, topics, subjects, and insights cover clinical matters, issues, and topics that relate to and directly or indirectly support our clinical scope of practice.*

Our office has reasonably attempted to provide supportive citations and has identified the relevant research studies or studies supporting our posts. We provide copies of supporting research studies available to regulatory boards and the public upon request.

We understand that we cover matters that require an additional explanation of how they may assist in a particular care plan or treatment protocol; therefore, to discuss the subject matter above further, please feel free to ask Dr. Alex Jimenez, DC, or contact us at 915-850-0900.

We are here to help you and your family.

Blessings

Dr. Alex Jimenez DC, MSACP, RN*, CCST, IFMCP*, CIFM*, ATN*

email: coach@elpasofunctionalmedicine.com

Licensed as a Doctor of Chiropractic (DC) in Texas & New Mexico*
Texas DC License # TX5807, New Mexico DC License # NM-DC2182

Licensed as a Registered Nurse (RN*) in Florida
Florida License RN License # RN9617241 (Control No. 3558029)
Compact Status: Multi-State License: Authorized to Practice in 40 States*
Graduate with Honors: ICHS: MSN-FNP (Family Nurse Practitioner Program)
Degree Granted. Masters in Family Practice MSN Diploma (Cum Laude)

Dr. Alex Jimenez DC, MSACP, MSN-FNP, RN* CIFM*, IFMCP*, ATN*, CCST
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