Spinal Health and the Gym

Spinal Health and the Gym

Spinal Health and the Gym
Chiropractic in Port St. Lucie and Fort Pierce, FL.

Spinal Health

Whether you are a competitive athlete in training or a person who just wants to keep fit by visiting the gym, protecting your back and spine from injuries during workouts is a priority.

Before the Gym

Common back injuries are due to the repetitive actions that we due on a daily basis. Our lives most often consist of sitting at a desk hunched over a computer or sitting for long periods in a car. These daily repetitive activities done over an extended period of time not only place a daily strain on the back but it can affect spinal alignment. Specialists in fitness find that when a person’s posture is rounded throughout the day in their upper back, and then they go to the gym and do an overhead shoulder lift standing, their upper back cannot extend properly.

Suggestions for Success

No matter what your career entails, trainers suggest that in order to avoid injury you consider getting a qualified person who can show you the proper way of performing exercises and using the gym equipment effectively. Visit your chiropractor to make sure your spine is properly aligned!

The most important way to maintain good spinal health is to strengthen your core muscles. These are the muscles that lend strength and support to the spine, and which tend to become weakened with the long periods of sitting.
Following are a few tips on how to use proper form when exercising or lifting weights in the gym.

Tighten your bum!

When performing a squat, deadlift, or during pushups, be sure to squeeze the muscles in your gluteus. This ensures that the muscles connecting your lumbar and sacral areas are locked so your hips and lower back move as a single unit.

Tighten your abs!

To keep your spine from arching too much in either direction, tighten your abdominal muscles like you are preparing to be punched in the stomach. This will provide stability to the spine as you bend and lift.

Pull your shoulders down and back!

Consciously push your shoulders back and down. You should feel the muscles between your shoulder blades tighten.

Practice in the mirror and to better visualize the proper position of your spine.

Dr. Susan Sanders, D.C. of St. Lucie Chiropractic has been serving families for 20 years and adjusting patients on the Treasure Coast for the last 10 years providing family chiropractic care and personal injury treatments. The office is 1,400 square feet of Chiropractic and Rehabilitative therapies. We provide many types of adjusting techniques, by hand or with the use of adjusting tools to suit every one’s individual needs. We are in network with many insurance plans and also provide cash services as well as family and business contracts for those looking for group coverage. We look forward to serving you.

Dr. Sue