Just like machines, our bodies also get tired. You’ll notice that your performance physically when you are younger is way different than what you are when you are older.
As we grow old, we might experience various kinds of problems in our bodies. This is because our body is designed of different components that also wear out over time.
You’ll feel it as they will show signs especially through the presence of pains. The most common areas in our body that usually experience such pains are the neck and back as we age.
This is very prevalent in people who were working tremendously vigorously throughout their younger years. The combination of bad posture and extended hours of sitting without any breaks is quite dangerous for office workers, and manual and physical labour tends to take its toll on joints as we age.
The tensions that have built over time manifest when you are older. So it is fair to say that if you are over 50 years of age, neck and back pain might be present.
This is not a given though, it does not happen all the time. There are people of such age who are not experiencing any pain.
So, the answer to the question is if you are still young right now, you will have chances of not experiencing chronic neck and back pain in the future if you maintain your body as best you can.
The question is how you can do it?
Preventing Back and Neck Pain
In this part of the article, you will learn different routines that you could use to maintain your overall wellness and excellent bodily functions. If you devote time to this, it will give you a lot of confidence in the future that you will age gracefully, fit and well.
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Alter your diet into a healthier one: It is known that people who aged gracefully do have a healthy diet. Their diet is composed of a wide variety of vegetables, fruits, eggs, and the right amount of meat. When it comes to neck and back pains, vitamin B complex is the best for preventing the condition from worsening. So a good dose of such vitamin will help a lot. You can replace red meat with tofu to make things healthier.
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Involve yourself in physical activities: Being physically active at all times is great practice. It makes our body sound and healthy. You should train yourself of this routine at a very young age and continue towards it even if you are already old. It does not mean that you have to do intense workouts as not all of us are designed for it. What it entails is that you just need to break a sweat from time to time to get healthy. You can do light exercises or bodyweight exercises.
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Proper posture: There is nothing compared to having a good posture if you want to prevent neck pain and a bad back from occurring in the future. Always practice an erect posture while you are sitting or standing. This would help you a lot in minimizing the risks of having chronic pain in the said areas or even scoliosis in the long run.
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Practice yoga: It is proven that yoga has a lot of benefits in our overall health. This includes posture, reducing stress, strengthening the lungs, etc. So, if you start practicing yoga then most probably you will reap the benefits immediately and even until you get older if you do it continuously.
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Avoid being passive: Never sit on the couch all day as much as possible. You must do variations when it comes to movements to ensure that you have an ample amount of physical activities throughout the day.
Why back and neck pain common for older people?
Compared to the younger population, people over 50 have higher chances of experiencing sharp back and neck pains. This is because throughout the years, tensions on their muscles, joints, tendons, ligaments, etc. are formed and the effects manifest only once they get older. Having said that, you will notice that when a person gets older, a lot of issues in their body arise. As a result, those issues will manifest in the form of pain.
Although there are times wherein younger people get those kinds of pain such as muscle neck pain it is mostly due to sports injuries. This only entails that older people must be very mindful of their actions to avoid the prevalence of such issues and take action to manage the pain efficiently.
Since most painkillers inflict a bad effect on the kidneys and liver, it is not advisable to take them for the long term. Chiropractic therapy might be the solution to the problem. It is a wholesome way of healing that involves adjustments of the spine, muscles, and other components of our body by pressure and stretching. There are lots of chiropractic therapy clinics that offer such a service, including us here at the Falcon Health clinic.
Conclusion
No one wants to experience neck and back pain especially when we get older as it limits our productivity. Therefore, if you are still young, it is important to take precautions by living a healthy life. Since neck and back pain can worsen over time, it is great if you take the time to manage it before it even happens.