You don’t have to rely solely on regular visits to the chiropractor to keep your spine and back feeling good. As with most aspects of your health, you are the person with the most control. Here are some things to do during the course of the day.

Start the day with some stretching. Reach your hands toward the ceiling and hold for 10 seconds. You should feel your spine straightening out. Then put your hands on your hips and rotate gently at the waist. Turn to the right. Hold for 10 seconds. Then to the left. When you’re at a sink, whether it’s brushing your teeth or doing the dishes, stand as erect as possible.

If you are a stay-at-home parent, children pose all sorts of challenges to your back’s well-being. Picking up a squirming toddler is just one tricky example. Bend at the knees--not at the waist—and let your legs—not your back—bear the brunt of the lifting. That same rule, of course, applies to the lifting of any heavy or unwieldy object.

Cradling a phone—cell or land line—between a shoulder and a cocked head is another way to put unnecessary strain on your spine.

Talk with your chiropractor about other precautions you can take in the course of a normal day.

Presented as a service to the community by: Union County Chiropractic Clinic, 110 Skyline Drive, Maynardville, TN (865) 992-7000 www.unioncountychiropractic.com