Most of our problems can usually be traced back to habits we have formed over many years. It is not eating badly every once in a while or lifting improperly just that one time. It is our habits. Habits are the most difficult things to break. I myself am battling the coffee habit; I’ll let you know how it goes. The first week, however, has been atrocious! The key to a problem is not to have it in the first place. I had a sweet soul tell me this past week; she dropped her soap and cried, because she knew there was now way she was going to be able to pick it up. By the way, the soap escapade is a real regular in the office. By practicing good habits, our children will pick them up eliminating not only problems for them, but also our grandchildren.

So lets talk about our spine. The spine should have three curves in it looking at it from the side. A forward curve should be apparent in the low back, a gentle sloping curve in the opposite direction in the upper back, and a forward curve in the neck mimicking the one in the low back. The curves form a spring to alleviate all the jarring and stress we subject our backbone to every single day. So, maintaining our spinal curves or spring in all our daily activities would be ideal. Remember you have to have a spring to be sprung! Keeping this rule in the back your mind may cause you to approach daily activities differently. For example, most folks bend over when trying to stretch the backs of their legs. The same can be accomplished by remaining upright, placing one foot on the seat of a chair, and bending the standing knee slightly…feel the stretch in the back of the leg.

Next most joints, including the joints of the spine, do not have a direct blood supply feeding nutrients to the joint. Most joints soak up nutrients much like a sponge soaks up water from surrounding tissues. This soaking of nutrients is enhanced by motion. Therefore, we have the age old adage, "You must move it or lose it!" This applies to more than just muscles; it applies to your joints as well. In fact, it applies to every aspect of our bodies.

The third, and final weapon in our arsenal to protect our backs is proper lifting techniques meaning: Don’t bend and twist. Every joint in our body was designed to perform a particular task really well. Consequently the joint is the strongest while moving in the direction for which it was specifically designed. For example, our knee moves front to back very easily. Our knee also moves from side to side, but to a far lesser degree. So if I was to kick someone directly in the kneecap, I would probably damage their knee, but that knee would be able to take more stress in that direction than if I was to come in from the side. Why? The knee’s main movement in from front to back, and therefore is the strongest in that direction. That is way most knee injuries occur due to a trauma coming from the side. The same can be said about the joints of the spine, specifically the low back. When we bend forward and twist, we are putting our low back in the most detrimental position possible. It takes 980 psi to rupture a disc of the spine. Bending over to pick up a pen is 830 psi. How to properly lift? Face directly the object to be lifted. Bend at your knees. Bring object in as close to you as possible. Maintain an arched low back as you use your powerful leg muscles to come to a standing position.

Regular chiropractic adjustments help keep previous injured joints in motion, facilitating joint health. Recapping the finer points to protect our low backs. Get you spine checked periodically by you chiropractor. Curves are cool. Get up! Get up! And move that body. And finally, 2, 4, 6, 8, those that bend their knees recuperate!

…. As for our sweet soul, she is now getting her soap with out assistance.