Benefits of chiropractic care: best tips to keep your spine healthy as you age

The benefits of chiropractic care as you get older will help to keep your spine healthy from increased pains, aches, and joint stiffness as you age. Many people will assume that these discomforts just come with the territory of aging, as a matter of fact, when it comes to your spine, there may be some decline in flexibility and function as expected when the intervertebral disks and bones begin to deteriorate over time. To help maintain the flexibility and comfort in your spine well into your golden years, there are things that you can do right now.

What happens to your spine as you age?

Most of the problems that arise in the spine as you age can be caused by degenerative disc disease. In the spine, there are vertebrae with discs in between each one that will absorb any impact and provide cushioning. The cartilage in your spine wears down as you get older and the water content can be lost. At that point, there is an increase in common health issues such as:

Bulging discs
Herniated discs
Collapsed discs
Spinal stenosis
Osteoarthritis

The vertebrae in your spine can be moved out of their proper positions when any of the above issues occur as your nerves start to compress.

How to keep your spine healthy

As you age, you should be focusing on a few key preventative issues to maximize your chances of keeping active and mobile.

Tip #1: Exercise

You will need to have a strong heart and lungs to pump fresh blood and keep your organs moving no matter how pristine your spine is. It is recommended you should exercise at least 30 minutes a day 5 days a week. Adding weighted exercises, along with vitamin D and calcium supplementation is critical to prevent bone loss and/or osteoporosis, this can lead to a weakened spine and put your body at risk of a broken hip or spinal fracture. Emphasizing core strengthening during exercise, along with weighted aerobic exercise, helps to improve your posture and relieve your spine from some of the load.

Tip #2: Bodyweight

This is more about maintaining a reasonable weight rather than weight loss. An easy way to get an estimate of your more ideal body is by using the following formula:

50kg (or 110 lbs. for men) or 45kg (or 99 lbs. for women) + 2.3kg (5 lbs.) for every inch of height that is over 5 feet.
You should try to stay within 10% of this number.

Also, don’t forget to watch what you’re eating because it is not just exercising that will keep your weight under control. A great way to protect your spine is with a combination of not putting more weight on your spine than it was designed to and having a strong core as time goes by.