Spring Cleaning: 4 Tips to Preventing Neck and Back Pain
It’s that time of year again – spring cleaning! If you’re currently suffering or have suffered from neck or back pain in the past, clearing out the clutter can be an intimidating chore full of potential discomfort. But that doesn’t have to be the case.
Keep reading to learn about how spring cleaning can be beneficial for the spine, plus helpful tips on preventing injury during your annual purge.
Is Spring Cleaning Bad for Your Spine?
The simple answer: no. In fact, the activities that come along with typical spring cleaning can actually be good for your spine if done correctly. So how exactly does spring cleaning work in favor of good spine health?
In most cases, spring cleaning plays a positive role by requiring some sort of physical activity. Whether you’re working inside the house or out in the yard, you’ll be burning calories and putting your muscles to work.
Not only does this annual increase in physical activity help strengthen and condition the muscles that support the spine, it also increases your body’s endorphin production, which can improve your mood and energy, and play a key role in relief for chronic pain sufferers.
Additionally, if you’ll be out working in the yard or outdoors as a part of your spring cleaning routine, the increase of exposure to sunlight also increases your levels of vitamin D – aka the sunshine vitamin – which has been shown to help patients with chronic pain.
Ways to Prevent Injury During Spring Cleaning
Before you dive into cleaning out every nook and cranny in your house and yard, there are a fews ways to ensure avoiding injury or worsening a preexisting condition that could lead to more pain.
- Don’t overexert yourself. Before engaging in any sort of physical activity, stretching is very important so your muscles and tissues can ease into an active state. If you overexert your muscles without giving them time to warm up, you’ll be exposing yourself to greater risk of injury, such as herniated discs or muscle strain.
- Don’t tackle everything at once. Depending on how deep your spring cleaning goes, it’s important to keep you physical limits in mind when attacking your to-do list. Try to break up tasks over the course of a few days or weeks so that you’re not overworking your spine.
- Use proper lifting techniques. Spring cleaning can involve a decent amount of lifting and moving objects, which specifically involves the spine. If you’re planning on having to lift and move thing, be sure you’re using proper techniques to avoid injury. Remember to bend at the knees and not at the waist. When moving around, avoid twisting your back at unhealthy angles.
- Listen to your body. In most cases, any increase or change in physical activity can cause a general amount of discomfort, but if the pain is severe or begins to worsen, stop what you’re doing. For relief of acute pain, try conservative treatment options, such as rest, applying ice or heat, and using over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medications. If you feel that you’ve injured yourself or sense something is wrong, consult with a medical professional as soon as possible.
How Champey Pain & Spine Can Help
At Champey Pain & Spine Group, we make it our top priority to help our patients live a pain-free life. If you suffer from chronic back or neck pain that makes spring cleaning an impossible chore, it may be time to talk to one of our spine specialists about your possible treatment options. Please contact us today by clicking the button below.
