“Ho! Ho! Ho! … Oh! Oh! Oh! My back!” Poor Santa has a tough job with all those presents. He may need some help loading the sleigh. Are you ready? Are you doing the exercises your Richmond chiropractor recommended to keep back pain away? Remember: Santa’s watching! So is Johnson Chiropractic!

For your back’s sake, listen to your Richmond chiropractor and keep exercising through the holidays! Johnson Chiropractic recommends keeping exercise simple so you keep exercising. Throughout the holidays, your spine needs all the support it can get to keep you going and keep back pain away.

So what may put your spine at risk during the Richmond holidays more than other times of the year? Big shopping bags. (Make a few trips to the car between purchases!) Heavy boxes of decorations. Stress. Bulky suitcases…especially when they’re pulled off of the luggage carousel at the airport. (Use your knees!) Snow shoveling. Bad beds at Grandma’s house or the local hotel. Johnson Chiropractic hears all the stories! January is generally the most fun month to catch up with our Richmond back pain patients!

But what exercises are the best to keep your back pain in check? The ones you do! That was flippant (a little bit!), but it’s true. The exercise you do is the most beneficial. There are 3 main goals of exercise for low back pain: one is to improve back flexibility and strength, two is to reduce back pain, and three is to keep you from fearing back pain by using your back! (1) Great goals throughout the year! For now, though, Johnson Chiropractic encourages you to do the knee chest and hamstring stretch in the morning before you get going. These two simple exercises will take you just a few minutes. If you have more time, do more. But Johnson Chiropractic knows you’ll feel better about yourself if you just exercise. Heck, you may even be inspired to do more!

Now, if Santa calls you and asks you to help load his sleigh, you’ll be ready and your spine will be, too, if you’ve been a good exerciser this year. But don’t feel bad if you ask him to have an elf help him with the heavy gifts! When you are done, contact Johnson Chiropractic to arrange a Richmond chiropractic appointment for your back’s sake. Happy Holidays!