Is your spine healthy? Compare yourself with the ideal healthy spine below to see if your spine has the following: • Good posture and spinal curves • Strong abdominal and core muscles • Strong spinal and gluteus muscles • Good flexibility and balance with side-bending and rotation • Good nutrition and rested well at night
Newsletter
Enjoy Your Life Without BACK PAIN!
A Healthy Spine Prevents Back Pain Do you find your back aching and nagging you when you first get up in the morning or after sitting in a chair? You may even notice your back start to bother you with standing for more than 10 minutes or having to walk distances. Back pain can come in different sensations from dull aches, to sharp stabbing pains or even radiating pain into the legs. The bottom line is with a healthy spine, back pain can be prevented and even reversed.
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Newsletter
Ben McCormack, PT, CEO
“If June was the beginning of a Quote of The Month: hopeful summer, and July the juicy middle, August was suddenly feeling like the bitter end.” Sarah Dessen
“What Is Considered A Healthy Spine?” A HEALTHY SPINE PREVENTS BACK PAIN
How can you improve your spinal health? You think about eating right, exercising and having a healthy heart, but what about your back? Your spine is what gives you the ability to move around, protects your spinal cord and allows you to breathe properly. In fact, almost every function in your body is directly connected to the health of your spine. Therefore, it stands to reason that you should care for your back like you do your heart. Anybody with back pain can tell you that it interferes with your life, but with the right help, back pain can be a thing of the past. Look inside for tips on how to improve your spinal health…
Is your spine healthy? Compare yourself with the ideal healthy spine below to see if your spine has the following: • Good posture and spinal curves • Strong abdominal and core muscles • Strong spinal and gluteus muscles • Good flexibility and balance with side- bending and rotation • Good nutrition and rested well at night
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6 STEPS TO A HEALTHY SPINE Your spine is a complicated structure of vertebrae, discs, joints, ligaments, tendons, muscles and nerves. Every second of every day your spine is moving in a delicate balance, even while you breathe! Take care of it and it will take care of you. 1. Eat Right “How Should I Relieve My Back Pain Naturally?”
4. Improve Your Flexibility and Strength Your spine and body is designed to move. Keep your spine flexible by stretching for 10 minuteseveryday. It isbest togetupandmove around when possible at work. Stretch your spine out by reaching overhead and leaning over to one side, then the other. Also, work on gently twisting at the waist and don’t forget to stretch your hamstring muscles frequently. Spend 3-4 days a week working on your core strength with abdominal muscle exercises,
Nutrition is critical to having a healthy body. Thesamegoes foryourspine.Protein rebuilds spinal muscle tissue, ligaments and tendons. Healthy fruits and vegetables contain the vitamins and antioxidants to make the spine function. They rebuild bone, muscle and connective tissues that are constantly being used throughout the day. 2. Rest
Print sudoku http://1sudoku.com Make sure that you sit properly with a straight-backed chair and your feet flat on the floor. Avoid sitting on very soft couches for prolonged periods as this keeps your spine in a flexed position. Make sure that you keep your spine straight when lifting, using your legs and avoiding twisting. Keep your balance tip-top to activate the small muscles of the spine and use your nervous system. Enhance your balance by standing on one leg at a time for 10 seconds 3-4 times a week. 6. Have a Spine Check-up 6 1 8 5 1 9 squats and other exercises to keep your spine and core muscles strong. This supports your spine and allows you to move without stressing the discs or nerves in your back. 5. Improve Your Posture and Balance
8 2 Throughout the day your spine is compressed with standing, sitting and bending. You can actually lose about ½ an inch over the course of a day. Adequate rest in a good position while sleeping, helps you maintain a healthy spine. It is ideal to start off lying in bed for the first 10 minutes on your side with your knees curled up. This allows the discs to rehydrate. Then continue sleeping on your side with a pillow between your legs or roll onto your back with a pillow under your knees. Avoid sleeping on your stomach. 3. Stop Smoking 5 8 9 7
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2 1 Have a physical therapist spine specialist check your spine alignment and function every 6 months to ensure your back is moving how it should. Our physical therapists are the medical experts in helping your back operate as it should. If you are suffering with backaches and pains, come in for a check-up sooner rather than later. Long term aches and pains can mean permanent damage is being done to your spine. Catching back pain early, leads to a healthy spine for life. Discover how our SPINE Program can make your back or neck pain a thing of the past. Come in for a check-up and see how you can move like never before, pain free. Call us today! 7 2 9 4 3 6 6 Many studies show that nicotine in cigarettes directly accelerates the breakdown of the discs in the spine and destroys connective tissues thatkeep the jointsmovingproperly. In addition, nicotine increases the inflammatory response in the body, disrupting the body’s natural ability to repair itself. 9 8 5 6 1 7 4 9 3 9 5 4 9 7 6 6 9 2 3 8 6 4 7 7 1 3 http://1sudoku.com http://1sudoku.com n° 417872 - Level Expert n° 429083 - Level Expert
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4 6 1 This Month’s Sudoku! EXPERT LEVEL The goal of Sudoku is to fill in a 9×9 grid with digits so that each column, row, and 3×3 section contain the numbers between 1 to 9. At the beginning of the game, the 9×9 grid will have some of the squares filled in. Your job is to use logic to fill in the missing digits and complete the grid. 3 5 9 4 1 2 9 6 3 6 2 3 8 8 5 2 9
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IS YOUR CHILD’S BACK PACK GOING TO CAUSE INJURY?
Exercise To Help With Pain:
Helps With Spine Mobility PRAYER STRETCH
Finding a Safe Pack Despite their potential problems, backpacks are great when used properly. Before you buy one, though, consider a backpack’s construction.
While in a crawl position, slowly lower your buttocks towards your feet until a stretch is felt along your back and/or buttocks. Hold for 30 seconds and repeat 3 times.
Exercisescopyrightof
Look for the following to choose the right backpack:
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• Lightweight pack: get one that doesn’t add a lot of weight to your child’s load; for example, leather packs look cool, but they weigh more than canvas backpacks • Two wide, padded shoulder straps: straps that are too narrow can dig into shoulders • Padded back: it not only provides increased comfort, but also protects kids from being poked by sharp objects or edges (pencils, rulers, notebooks, etc.) inside the pack • Waist belt: this helps to distribute the weight more evenly across the body • Multiple compartments: to help distribute the weight throughout the pack Although packs on wheels (which look like small, overhead luggage bags) may be good options for students who have to lug around really heavy loads, they’re very hard to pull up stairs and to roll through snow. Check with the school before buying a rolling pack; many don’t allow them because they can be a tripping hazard in the hallways. Using Backpacks Wisely To help kids prevent injury when using a backpack: • Lighten the load. No matter how well-designed the backpack, less wate is always better. Use the bathroom scale to check that a pack isn’t over 10% to 15% of your child’s body weight (for example, the backpack of a child who weighs 80 pounds shouldn’t weigh more than 8 to 12 pounds). • Use and pick up the backpack properly. Make sure kids use both shoulder straps. Bags that are slung over the shoulder or across the chest — or that only have one strap — aren’t as effective at distributing the weight as bags with two wide shoulder straps, and therefore may strain muscles. Also tighten the straps enough for the backpack to fit closely to the body. The pack should rest evenly in the middle of the back and not sag down to the buttocks. You may need to adjust your kids’ backpacks and/or reduce how much they carry if they : • Struggle to get the backpack on or off • Have back pain • Lean forward to carry the backpack If your child has back pain or numbness or weakness in the arms or legs, talk to your doctor or a physical therapist.
Always consultyourphysical therapistorphysicianbefore startingexercisesyouare unsureofdoing.
Patient Testimonial
“Northern Physical Therapy is like going home for me. Through the years I have had so many of my needs met by the excellent team of therapists that I feel like they are my family. Whenever I need to reset my body mechanics the first thing I ask my doctor is for a referral to Northern Physical Therapy. Not only are they excellent caregivers but they are community minded and loving people. They wholeheartedly give whether it’s giving to the backpack program for HOPE or creating a music fundraiser for a deceased patient who they poured all of their love and caring into. I love them all, they are constantly reaching higher and I recommend them to anyone who needs some body repair mixed with humor, sympathy and love.”
NPT Values Highlight
We are a whole lot of fun Well, duh. That’s obvious!! Have you ever been in our gym when everyone’s caffeine high kicks in...simultaneously? Do you know what role a screaming monkey plays in therapy? We crack jokes, we throw an occasional football to our patient as they enter the gym, we poke fun at ourselves, we tell stories and, more importantly, we get our patients to tell their stories. We have the ability to elicit smiles from our patients even though they may be suffering. Hang out in the NPTgym for a day and you’ll see how easy it can be to maintain really professional relations in a not-so serious environment.
Energetic Engagement Celebrate the successes of patients, each other, and the business
We are a whole lot of fun Interest in CommUnity
Caring Confidence Shared prosperity
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