Nebraska_5 Keys to a Healthy Spine

Nebraska_5 Keys to a Healthy Spine

Nebraska Orthopaedic Newsletter

1 2 “Don’t You Think YouWould BeMore ProductiveWith A Healthier Spine?” Discover The 5 Keys To A Healthy Spine 1. Watch your sitting Sitting is the position that puts the most pressure on the low back. It is important to break up your sitting time throughout the day and take frequent breaks. Work in standing or walking tasks at various times throughout the day, limiting your sitting to about 30 minutes at a time. 2. Protect your spine with better posture How you sit, stand, stretch and lift all play a role in the pressures on your spine. We all know to bend with our knees, not our back when lifting, but do you really do it? Really bend down deep with your knees to pick up objects off low shelves, such as in the refrigerator or shoes off the floor. When standing, walking and sitting, imagine a string pulling you up through the top of your head. This brings your neck, shoulders and back into better alignment. (continued inside)

Nebraska Orthopaedic Newsletter

“More Productivity With A Healthier Spine?” Discover The 5 Keys To A Healthy Spine 3 3. Tighten your core muscles Your core muscles are made up of your abdominal muscles, spinal muscles and pelvic / hip muscles. It is very common for these muscles to become weak with prolonged sitting, before/after pregnancy, after surgeries or injuries. Strengthening your abdominal and hip muscles can go a long way to providing the necessary muscle support to your spine. Speak with one of our experts on what exercises are right for you. (CONTINUED FROM OUTSIDE)

INSIDE: • How Would I

Know If I Have A Healthy Spine?

• Patient Success Story

• Fun Recipe

4 5 4. Improve your nutrition Your body is a machine and it needs the right fuel to run. Since you use your body all day long, it needs to rebuild itself constantly. The ligaments, tendons, muscles and discs in your spine need the right nutrition to stay healthy. Make sure to eat dark green leafy vegetables, lean protein and stay hydrated. Avoid smoking and fried foods, which actually harm your tissues and make pain more prevalent. 5. Get your spine moving Your body was made to move, especially your spine. It is common for areas of your spine to tighten up, placing too much strain on other areas. These areas, then become irritated and painful. Restore the flexibility in your spine with gentle, specialized hands on therapy as well as specific exercises. Participate in Yoga and Pilates to improve your stability, strength and spinal balance. “If you hurt your low back, starting PT within the first 14 days can save you (on average) $2,700.” Make your back as healthy as it can be this year by investing in it. Physical therapy is the right solution to improving your spinal health and saying goodbye to that aching neck or back. Prevent future pain by seeing one of our specialists today. Call us to speak with one of our experts.

“I came to Nebraska Orthopaedic with so much lower back pain. I couldn’t work more than a couple hours per day and was taking prescriptions that I was anxious to discontinue. Now I am back to my regular routine with very little discomfort and no meds!” Patient Success Story

402-620-4605 CALL TODAY! www.NEOrthoPT.com

“How Would I Know If I Have A Healthy Spine?” Finding The Source & Resolution To Pain Caused By The Spine

Most of us will experience back or neck pain at some point in our lives. It is the price we pay for walking on two legs. If you suffer from the occasional ache or have chronic low back or neck pain, the goal is to relieve the pain, without the need for surgery. In fact, recent studies point to the fact that patients who underwent a common fusion procedure for the spine, were more likely to have a second surgery within 2 years*. The best way to avoid the need for spine surgery, is to improve the health of your spine, and

our treatments play a key role in making that happen. WHY DOES YOUR NECK OR BACK HURT?

One thing to understand about neck and back pain is that it is mechanical. Just like a car can have problems with moving parts, so can your spine.The daily barrage of strain on our backs with sitting, lifting improperly, and poor nutrition, can wreck havoc on our spines.

Most spine pain comes from the following 4 trouble areas: 1. Poor posture and alignment 2. Lack of knowledge on how to bend, lift, sit, sleep 3. Lack of muscle strength 4. Poor flexibility and muscle coordination

The good news, is that your body is adaptable and you can always improve what you have. With the right treatment and training, your back or neck can usually make a full recovery. Physical Therapists are the mechanics of the body, and seeing one of our specialists first can often help you avoid expensive testing or medical procedures. Nebraska Orthopaedic Physical Therapy Can Help You Maintain A Healthy Spine, Naturally! *Anand Veeravagu, Tyler Cole, Bowen Jiang, John K. Ratliff The Spine Journal, Vol. 14, Issue 7, p1125–1131 Published online: October 14 2013

Health Tips

“How Should I Prepare For My Daily Runs?” 4 Amazing Tips To Buying Running Shoes

1. Visit your physical therapist to do a gait analysis. Checking whether you are a supinator, neutral or pronator is the first step into buying the right type of shoe. 2. Don’t think that more expensive equals better. Brands of running shoes vary greatly in price. Do your research. 3. Buy from a running store. Try on many brands and compare shoes that fit your gait.

4. Buy a shoe that you actually like. It doesn’t hurt to buy something you feel great wearing!

Being Intentional About Spending Time With Loved Ones. By Abby Regier PT, DPT

learned new games, found new games that we loved, and kept getting together to play. We then started a game called Pandemic Legacy, Season 1. This is a year long game that is meant to be played monthly. Everyone is on the same team

They say when you grow older, you grow apart from your friends. That may be true when someone moves away, but in my friend group, we still get together on a regular basis. However, we have a reason to get together regularly and that is board games. Board games are kind of a dying breed now due to technology, but we live for them. They give us a reason to get together, they keep us close. For me it started in high school when my friend group would play all those nerdy board games we love together. I am sure our parents didn’t mind that we spent our free time that way. As we moved on to college, we happened to meet some others that also enjoyed board games. One of them worked at a place in Omaha called Spielbound. It is a board game coffee shop where you can play any of the games they have there (which is thousands of options). As a side note, you should really check the place out. They have an awesome mission as a non-profit. Anyways, we

and you strategize to beat the game, not each other.The seasons aspect of it creates new challenges that you don’t see in the regular Pandemic game. Starting this game really gave us a reason to see each other once a month. We would set our date and get together to work as a team and beat that month of Pandemic. We have now made it through not only season 1, but just recently finished season 2. We are excited for season 3 to come back so that we can resume our monthly meetings. I encourage anyone to pick up a new board game, learn it, and play with your family friends. It really is priceless time spent with people you love. We have created so many memories together through this hobby.

Mind Exercise: Sudoku Print sudoku http://1sudoku.com

Fruit Sparklers Recipe

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INGREDIENTS

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• 1 whole watermelon • 16 ounces fresh blueberries • Bamboo skewers

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Directions Cut watermelon vertically into 1 inch thick slices. Use a small star cookie cutter to cut out star shapes from the flesh of each watermelon round. Thread 7-10 blueberries into the center of each bamboo skewer, leaving enough space at the end for someone to be able to comfortably hold it, and a space at the top for the watermelon star. Place the watermelon star on top and set the fruit sparklers on a serving tray. Cover and refrigerate until ready to enjoy. 2 1 4 2 9 8 6 5 http://1sudoku.com 5 8

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