Spine Wellness Checklist: Five Questions to Ask Yourself
Have you checked in on how your spine is doing lately? A strong spine isn’t just about good posture—it’s the key to moving, living, and feeling your best. Here is your spine wellness checklist: five questions to ask yourself.
Your Spine
Your spine is made up of three distinct sections:
- The cervical spine (also called the neck)
- The thoracic spine (also called the upper and middle back)
- The lumbar spine (also called the low back) and sacrum (also called the tailbone).
These sections work together to give your head, ribcage, arms, and legs the stability and flexibility needed to carry out the physical tasks you do each day.
The Five Spine Questions to Ask Yourself
The following are five questions to ask yourself that relate to spine wellness. This checklist provides a basic screening of your spine’s flexibility, strength, and resilience to injury. Any item in this checklist that sparks concern or uncertainty for you may be an excellent topic for your next wellness goal!
This checklist is also available in a printable format. Be sure to print out the attached document, add your comments, and bring it to your next appointment to review with your physical or occupational therapist.
1. Do you use safe lifting techniques?
Lifting form does not only apply to those who lift weights at the gym. Safe lifting techniques are needed for countless daily tasks—from moving bags of pet food or gardening soil to holding a baby carrier or heavy backpack. Even simple lifting tasks that are not done safely can put you at risk for injury.
Proper lifting techniques start with three basic principles, as follows.
- Hold an activated, neutral spine at all times.
- Use your leg muscles to do most of the work.
- Keep the weight of the object close to your body during the entire lifting process.
Unfortunately, ideal lifting form is not always possible, especially with awkward-sized objects or when you are in an uncontrolled environment. If these situations come up often for you, it is important to discuss and practice injury-prevention strategies with your physical or occupational therapist.
2. Is it uncomfortable to raise both of your arms completely over your head?
Sometimes, discomfort with raising both arms completely overhead can be a sign of spine stiffness. When it comes to overhead arm movement, our shoulders and shoulder blades rely heavily on the flexibility of the spine to get maximum range. Without proper range of motion of the spine—which happens with a forward head posture—our maximum overhead arm motion gets cut off. Improving the flexibility of the thoracic spine, ribcage, and neck can make a noticeable difference in posture and being able to complete overhead tasks (such as switching out a lightbulb, reaching an item on a high shelf, and fixing your hair).
3. Are you using the right breathing techniques?
Since breathing is an unconscious task, it can be difficult to notice your own breathing habits.
Ideally, with each inhale, the lungs and ribcage should comfortably expand to pull air deep into the bottom of our lungs. When done well, this should cause our stomach area to stretch, which gives space for our lower lungs to hold air.
The following are two of many reasons why someone may not be able to take a deep breath.
- Spine stiffness. The ribcage is attached to the spine—stiffness in the spine and forward head postures do not allow the ribcage and lungs to fully open.
- Stress. When we are stressed, we tend to fall into shallow, upper-chest breathing—it’s a quick way to get air in our lungs when we feel threatened in some way. Some of our neck muscles help expand the upper ribs to bring air into our upper lungs. With frequent stress, we end up always breathing in this inefficient way. This can cause strain on our neck muscles and our nervous system.
Learning how to breathe properly allows the spine muscles and nervous system to relax, keeps the ribcage and spine flexible, and brings in vital oxygen for your body to function well.
4. How well can you turn your head to check a car’s blind spots?
Turning our heads to look behind us is possible mainly through the range of motion of the upper neck. The most common daily task that requires full neck rotation is checking your car’s blind spots while backing out of a parking spot or changing lanes.
If this neck range of motion is lost, then we tend to turn our whole body to compensate. This can be uncomfortable, and, when it comes to driving, it can also be a safety concern.
Focusing on flexibility and posture exercises to improve neck range of motion is essential to improving the flexibility of the spine as a whole.
5. What is your weekly exercise routine?
A consistent, well-rounded exercise routine is essential for proper spine health.
Aerobic activity (exercise that works the heart, such as walking, running, and cross-country skiing) is one of the best ways to improve blood flow throughout the body. This is necessary for the spine to get proper nutrition and hydration. Also, our arm and leg movements during many aerobic activities naturally cause our spine to rotate, which can reduce the feeling of stiffness in the spine.
Strengthening exercises are important for building protection around all parts of the spine. Additionally, proper exercise can maintain a healthy body weight, which makes a difference on the pressure being put on the spine.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) suggests the following weekly exercise routine, at minimum, for adults.
- Aerobic exercise: 300-500 minutes of moderate-intensity activity or 75-150 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity. A combination of the two intensities is also acceptable.
- Muscle strengthening exercise: At least two days of moderate- to high-intensity activity that involves strengthening all major muscle groups.
For older adults, the HHS recommends these same guidelines as well as emphasizes adding exercises specific to balance training.
A consistent exercise routine, made up of a variety of activities, is an excellent way to keep your spine muscles strong and flexible—from the neck to the pelvis. If you are unsure of what activities you should include in your routine, your physical or occupational therapist can help you create a well-rounded exercise plan.
Reference
Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans Summary. https://odphp.health.gov/sites/default/files/2019-10/PAG_ExecutiveSummary.pdf