Top five tips for the over 60s on how to keep your spine healthy

Doc Liam regularly gets asked for advice on how to keep our spines healthy, especially as we grow older.  He's put together his top tips:

1. Movement! Movement really is the best medicine in looking after your spine and ensuring that you perform regular exercise is the best way for spinal health longevity.  Activities such as walking, swimming, cycling etc. are all low-impact activities that will help look after your back.

2. Posture! Making sure that you have and are maintaining correct posture is very important in avoiding any excessive stress and strain placed on the spine.

3. Lifting. Making sure you maintain correct posture when lifting a heavy object. Keeping the spine straight, bending at the knees and engaging your core will act to reduce the chance of injury as common injuries I see in the aged are due to a lifting an object awkwardly or incorrectly.

4. Strengthen! Hand in hand with movement based activities, performing specific exercises targeting the low back and spine are beneficial in strengthening the area. It doesn't have to be lifting heavy weights at the gym, but can be body weight exercises such as glute bridges and squats to strengthen the area.  Check out our Putney website to find some exercises to help strengthen your spine!

5. See your chiropractor! Chiropractic works on maintaining and improving spinal health by keeping the spine as mobile and flexible as it can be. It is important then to have regular checks or 'MOT's' to make sure the spine is moving to the best of its ability in order to exercise and move pain-free.