Commit to Better Back Health in 2010: 9 Tips to Stay on Track

January 12, 2010
by: Sylvia Marten

January is the perfect time to start thinking about what you want to accomplish this year. At the end of the prior year – the traditional time of year that most people try to make resolutions for the new year - it’s easy to get caught up in family gatherings and holiday celebrations and lose track of longer-term goals, or make ill-fated, cliché resolutions that sound good but never get anywhere.

For most people who experience back pain or neck pain or are close to someone who does, good back health will most likely be at the top of the list.

But how do you turn those good intentions into reality so that next December brings not only the excitement of another holiday season, but also a sense of accomplishment?

Make and Promote Your Plan for Better Health

The management adage ‘what gets measured gets done’ may be a cliché but it is also true. Good health, or lifestyle changes that lead to it, rarely just happen. Instead, planning is critical, as is the quality of the plan.

• 1. Develop a short list and share it. A 2-3 point list focused on specific behaviors and goals is much easier to work against than a laundry list. Sharing your goals with people who can support them—your family, close friends or a trainer—can function as a public declaration of your intent.
• 2. State goals in an acceptable target range. While it is important to set aside time each day to ‘work the plan’, life’s surprises will inevitably intrude. Having a target range (e.g., 10-20 minutes of meditation 5 days a week) is not only more realistic than a firm benchmark, it avoids the feeling of defeat that ends so many good plans.
• 3. Do regular progress checks, but don’t be obsessive. Checkpoints and milestones are necessary to chart progress, but being a slave to the scale or day timer can also backfire. A weekly or semi-weekly check-in usually is enough to keep on track and allow for natural fluctuations in weight, schedules, etc.

Include Activities to Improve Physical and Mental Health

By now, most of us are aware of the strong connection between our state of mind and the health of our body. So it makes sense to have a plan designed to strengthen both physical and mental health, so that the benefits from each are mutually reinforcing.

• 4. Try exercise that combines physical and mental dimensions. Not only does yoga (or other disciplines like tai chi or tae kwon do) promote strength and flexibility, it can help you focus on positive experiences and feelings that can override feelings of pain or anxiety.
• 5. Monitor the impact exercise has on your mental health. The mental health benefits of physical exercise are well-documented: endorphins released through exercise provide natural pain relief, and physical fatigue can be an effective barrier to depression and insomnia, among other problems. Know what type and duration of exercise, including back exercises, works best for you by noting how you feel 30 to 60 minutes after your exercise session.

Focus on Improving Nutrition, Rather Than Dieting

Losing weight plays a role in many New Year’s resolutions, and it’s true that excess weight can exacerbate back pain by adding stress on discs or nerves. Yet, most experts believe that achieving a healthy weight, particularly for Americans, starts with retooling what we eat and how we think about food.

• 6. Can’t cook? Take a class to learn how. A healthy diet depends not only on what you eat but knowing how to prepare it. You can socialize and learn how to minimize calories without sacrificing flavor and nutrition by joining a cooking class.
• 7. ‘Go slow to stay low’. Crash diets or fasting can yield quick results, but they can also be recipes for disaster because of the extreme impact they have on metabolism. Rather, experts advise making small, healthful changes (for example, adding a piece of fruit to breakfast and starting dinner with a salad) that can be sustained over the long haul. See Weight Loss for Back Pain Relief.

Be Pragmatic and Creative about Getting Exercise

One of the most significant changes in how physical fitness is talked about is the recognition that short sessions of low-impact exercise can add up to big improvements in health. While no one would argue with going to the gym for an hour every day, setting aside that amount of time can be difficult for most people.

Instead, find ways to exercise that fit in with your lifestyle.

• 8. Volunteer for errands that are ‘walkable’. Can you walk to work, or the post office or library? Studies show that 20-30 minutes of walking will maintain or improve cardiovascular health, and that three 10-minute brisk walks provide the same workout as a longer session.
• 9. Use TV time as ‘floor time’. Yes, floor time is usually thought of as play activities for little kids, but all of us can use the floor more productively. Using commercial breaks to do hamstring stretching exercises, or to do sets of back strengthening exercises, can get you off the couch and on the way to better health. Instead of missing a favorite show, you can use it to your advantage!

Final Thoughts

All progress, no matter how small, toward better health should be celebrated. Incremental changes in diet and nutrition, as well as physical exercise and mental health care, add up to huge differences over weeks and months.

Additional Resources:

• Exercise Health Center
• Sciatica Exercises
• Nutrition Health Center
• Low Back Pain Exercise Guide -- American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons