Spine Wellness

We have all heard that having a healthy lifestyle is good for our cardiovascular health – but did you know it is also good for your spine health?  At the recent medical education conference/ symposium Back Talk sponsored by Indiana Spine Group, Alta Skelton, RN, MSN, NP-C, discussed key factors for helping patients keep their spine healthy.

A few of the key things discussed were:

• Smoking – An earlier spine wellenss blog entry discussed smoking and the spine.  One of the key effects that smoking has on the spine is that it  speeds up disc degeneration.

• Nutrition – Proper nutrition helps maintain strong bones and connective tissue.  Additionally, nutrients are important for tissue repair.

• Obesity – Being overweight puts increased pressure / load on the spine. 

• Exercise – Aerobic activities help to increase not only the heart rate but also the blood flow.  This increased blood flow, can increase the   nutrients being diffused into the disc.