Safeguarding Your Spine Over Summer
Summertime and the living is easy! Summer is the best time to relax and enjoy a few months off before the kids go back to school and life becomes busier. However, your spine and joint issues won’t simply vanish for the season. Here are some tips to ensure your summer fun can continue without a hitch.
Does Warm Weather Increase Joint Pain?
Many patients don’t know that warm weather can increase swelling and pain due to changes in barometric pressure. This means that the increased pressure in the atmosphere along with humidity can increase the expansion of joints, tendons, muscles, and even scar tissue, leaving many people with previous injuries in pain.
Chronic conditions can have flare-ups no matter the temperature outside, but the summer weather does cause our bodies to need a period of adjustment, and this can increase the painful symptoms of arthritis and other conditions.
Minimizing Your Pain
If you are experiencing pain affecting your spine or other areas of your body, it’s important to visit your doctor for treatment. However, you can work to decrease your pain at home by using or combining any of these methods:
1. Staying Cool
Remain inside when you can, especially on extremely hot days. Take breaks to stay cooler if you must venture outside, and make sure your air conditioner is turned up to a comfortable temperature.
2. Stay Hydrated
Water is not only good for your health, but it helps to flush toxins out of the body which also helps to fight off pain-causing inflammation. Staying hydrated aids your joints by keeping them well lubricated.
3. Get Active
Low-impact physical activities such as swimming, yoga, and walking are all great ways to relieve pressure on your joints and keep them lubricated. They also help to promote stronger supportive muscles that can decrease pressure and strain on your joints.
4. Avoid Overexerting Yourself
Over-extension or utilization of your joints in warm weather will leave you feeling sore and swollen later on. Be mindful of how much your joints can handle.
Summer Sports Injuries
Not only is summer filled with warm-weathered fun, it’s also the time for many seasonal sports — where accidents are always a risk. Whether you’re hitting the field or the volleyball court this season, it’s important to warm up, cool down, and follow all recommended safety protocols for your specific sport.
Summer Ladder or Roof Falls
Summer is the season for home repairs and outdoor work. Just like any slip and fall, falling from the top of a ladder or roof can be shocking, embarrassing, and physically painful. Many patients who fall in this surprising way are still in a state of shock after they get back up, and don’t think to seek immediate care to ensure they haven’t hurt themselves.
Slip and falls are the leading causes of spinal injuries and neuropathic pain. To prevent chronic pain and alleviate acute pain, it’s important to seek medical attention and chiropractic care as soon as possible following a slip and fall.
Chiropractic Care Following Injury
After confirming you haven’t broken or fractured your spine, your chiropractor can help you find relief from your injuries. Chiropractic care is a natural way to reduce your pain through adjustments to your backbones. This can help treat misalignments that prevent proper bone function.
Treating Your Chronic Pain at iRISE Spine and Joint
At iRISE Spine and Joint, our professionals are ready to provide you with comprehensive care to treat injuries affecting your spine, joints, and any surrounding ligaments, tendons, and muscles.
We commonly help those suffering from an auto accident, slip, and fall, workplace accident, or traumatic brain injury, but remain available to patients suffering from chronic pain as well.
Contact our team for the dedicated care you need to recover.
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