Optimizing your physical health takes effort. Sometimes you need to add a good habit to your routine, other times you need to get rid of a bad habit. To make your pursuit of physical health a little easier, here is a simple list of the Top 7 Bad Habits that you should eliminate.
1) Sleeping On Your Stomach: A common cause of lower back pain is over extension of your lumbar spine. Sleeping on your stomach holds your lower back in extension for a prolonged period of time, jamming the joints, and potentially leading to injury.
2) Using Lumbar Support: “Lumbar Support” refers to a pad or cushion that you put in your chair or car-seat to increase the arch in your lower back. The bulk of people who use lumbar support have inappropriately be led to think that it is good for their back. This is only true in very few occasions. Just like sleeping on your stomach, increasing the arch of your lower back jams the joints and leads to injury.
3) Cracking Your Neck Or Back: If you are one of those people who crack their neck or back every half hour, STOP! You are moving the same joints every time, leaving the joints that are truly “stuck” to remain stuck. This leads to excessive motion in particular areas of your spine and lack of motion in others. The danger of this is not only from the risk of injury, but most importantly the risk of developing arthritis. If you feel like you must crack you joints frequently, see a Chiropractor to appropriately assess and correct the
dysfunctioning joints.
4) Sitting On Your Wallet: Sitting on your wallet causes a shift in the weight distribution put upon your pelvis and also causes your lower back to curve to the side that the wallet is on to compensate for the imbalance. Both of these factors are compromising to the integrity of your lower back and are a very common source of injury.
5) Carrying Your Purse On One Side: Carrying your purse on one shoulder or in one hand all the time will cause a chronic shift in your posture, leading to muscle imbalance and strain. Try frequently switching the side that you are carrying your purse on to balance out your equilibrium.
6) Leaning In Towards Your Computer: Considering the high number of employees who work behind a computer now-a-days, inappropriate computer station ergonomic injuries have become an epidemic. Click here to view a simple diagram of a correctly designed computer station.
7) Lifting With Your Back: When you have to lift an object, always bend at your knee’s and brace your abs. Bending at your knees keeps your lower back in a neutral position and bracing your abs locks it in place. Lifting only using your back increases the risk of a muscle strain or serious disc injury.
If you’re too lazy to do something healthy for yourself, try being more lazy and stop doing these bad habits.
Dr. Shamim Matin is San Diego’s specialist in non-surgical pain relief. Using the most advanced therapies, Dr. Matin treats and corrects painful physical conditions including Back Pain, Neck Pain, Headache, Jaw Pain, Shoulder Pain, Wrist Pain, Knee Pain, and Ankle Pain. Discover more at www.http://sandiegochiropractornow.com.