It’s easy to make New Year’s resolutions. But when back pain gets in your way, sticking with them all year is more challenging. I am a firm believer in making not only attainable goals, but pleasant ones, as well. Here are some tools to help make keeping your New Year’s health resolutions easy, fun and rewarding.

Posture and Core Fitness
If good posture, stress management, “me time”, or injury healing is your goal, then knowing how to establish core support can offer the foundation from which you can maintain your efforts. Use this practice to release unnecessary tension and before you do Pilates or other abdominal fitness work. The practice is very relaxing, as well.

Head, Neck and Shoulder Tension
If your target area is in your neck, shoulders and/or head, there are some guided imagery and simple movements that can be very effective in releasing the tension that causes pain. The key to using guided imagery is to relax, yet remain alert.

And don’t forget to stretch. Just remembering to take time out of your day to stretch your neck or back can make a noticeable difference in your tension level.

Taking Personal Responsibility for Chronic Pain
The resolution to take responsibility for chronic pain can be a challenging road, because you are making a commitment to be alert and present through your journey toward the health of your spine. When you take responsibility for your pain, you are to be commended – for your refusal to back down from the obstacles that bar you from using your personal resources to regain your wellness. Taking Personal Responsibility for Chronic Pain offers an orientation to self-empowering behavior in the face of this challenging situation.

Breathing Techniques
Many pain management programs include breathing exercises to help control the pain reaction. Understanding how breathing works may prove helpful in keeping yourself motivated to do your exercises.

Understand Your Options
An educated consumer is one who is more likely to get the back or neck pain treatment that fits their condition, lifestyle and values. There are many options, ranging from conservative care, to surgery, or alterntive medicine. Contact us to learn which would be most appropriate for you?

Try Ice
Ice and heat are common modalities used for back and neck pain. While heat is certainly called for in many circumstances, you can never go wrong with ice. Ice reduces pain and inflammation associated with acute injury, and is just as effective in chronic conditions.

Align Your Self with Back Health
Good posture comes from being upright against the force of gravity such that your bones fit properly with one another at their respective joints. The way the bones fit is referred to as alignment. Clinicians have defined an ideal alignment, one that should cause the least amount of strain or pain. But life has a way of getting involved, often offsetting the easy balance of well-fitted bones. When this happens, muscles tense and spasm, joints experience wear and tear, and pain is usually the result.
There are a number of alternative health disciplines that address the alignment of the bones and other body structures, including chiropractic, yoga and more. Click here to learn more about your spine.

Source: www.backandneck.about.com; Anne Asher; November 18, 2007