Is your sleeping posture affecting your spine? Know from expert

In recent times, the majority of people experience some degree of back pain in their lives, and it is more common in old age. With age, the joints become weaker and gravity has an effect on the spine. Surprisingly, it is getting common even among youngsters, and they suffer from backaches as early as in their 20s. Why does this happen? How does sleep has an effect on it? To understand the reason, it is important to know about the basic functions of the spine. The spine has three main functions, which include protecting the spinal cord along with internal organs; providing structural support; and maintaining balance and motion in the human body. There are 33 vertebral joints in the human spine that are connected by cartilage. These joints help in walking, sitting, and moving. With improper exercise, improper posture, stress injuries, and negligence towards exercise, the spinal joints start to experience degeneration and pain. To roll back the effect of spinal damage, proper posture, nutrition, stretching, exercising, and rest are required. Moreover, sleeping posture plays an important role in managing spine health. The mattress plays an important role in managing the health of the spine. It should be straight and should be of high density to provide support to the spine. If the mattress is too soft, it puts extra strain on the spine. While sleeping, the posture also plays a major role in determining spine health. If a person sleeps straight, they must avoid using pillows under neck, especially while suffering from frequent neck pain. Therefore, they must sleep while putting a pillow under their legs or try to sleep sidewards with pillows between the legs to avoid strain on the spine. This also helps in avoiding strain on the neck and lower back. It has been seen that sleep disturbance is associated with a higher risk of back pain. Improving sleep can be a deterrent to back pain. Therefore, interventions to reduce sleep disturbances can help to improve health. Apart from sleep, short-term spinal pain can be self-treated at home with exercise and therapy. If the pain is severe, sharp, or long-term, then it is advised to seek a doctor’s help immediately. Apart from that, lifestyle and food habits also play an important role in managing the health of spine and bones. One must follow a healthy diet that is rich in all nutrients. Adding milk, cheese and other dairy foods along with green leafy vegetables boost the health of bone. It is also recommended to add nuts, tofu and soya beans which are a rich source of calcium. At the same time, one must also follow an active lifestyle rather than a sedentary one. There should be some form of physical exercise on a daily basis and one must also do stretching. It is also important to not ignore persisting back or neck pain and must consult an expert to avoid any risk factors. The author is a consultant in Orthopedics and Spine Surgery, Manipal Hospital, Jaipur Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.