Buying, selling and moving house is exciting but can be stressful on your body. If you look at the list of most stressful events that can happen to us through life, you’ll find that moving house ranks right up there with the death of a loved one and changing jobs. Stresses such as these can be harmful to your health.
The stress of moving house can creep up on you both physically and emotionally. Decisions need to be made that will impact you financially, plans need to be implemented, household items need to be packed up, moved and then unpacked…the list goes on. All can impact on your level of stress and cause harm to your health.
Emotional stress can impact your health causing tight, aching muscles, poor posture and muscle fatigue leading to tight, aching muscles and ultimately, neck pain and headaches.
Physical stress from bending, lifting and twisting whilst packing, moving and unpacking often shows up as low back pain.
Here are some tips to help you decrease the stress on your spine:
1. Warm up before you do anything! A few easy arm swings, back and side stretches can be sufficient to get the blood circulating though the tissues which will minimise the chances of you straining your back.
2. Try to engage your core muscles during any lifting activity, to protect your back. (Draw your belly button back towards your spine).
3. Do your best to limit the time you`re in one position i.e. knelt on the floor leaning over a box packing items or wrapping fragile pieces. Yes, there`s a job to be done, but your lower back muscles will be stiff and sore when you try to move again.
4. When lifting weight or loading onto a vehicle, face the direction in which you want to carry the weight, to avoid twisting, keep the legs hip width apart and the knees softly bent.
5. Keep the load that you`re carrying as close to you as possible.
6. Avoid bending from the waist, which increases the stress on the lower back. Never keep knees straight as this will lead to over-stretching and will cause damage to the ligaments and muscles in the lower back.
7. Always avoid lifting whilst twisting at the waist.
So how can Chiropractic care help? Specific, gentle Chiropractic spinal adjustments help to relieve the stresses that build up in your spine. This build up of stresses often show up in your spine as subluxations or joints that become locked up, irritating nerves and eventually can lead to pain.
Now do you wait until after you’ve moved to get your spine sorted out? Ideally it’s best to start with a pre-move check-up. Is your spine ready for the physical and emotional rigors of moving house? Pre-move adjustments may get your spine functioning to it’s peak and enable it to handle any stress that moving can throw at it.
Spinal adjustments through the actual move stage may help minimise the impact these stressors have on your health. Rather than letting your aches and pains build up, it’s best to deal with them as they arise. The sooner we can get your spine functioning properly, the better.
And then of course it’s important to clear your spine of subluxations once you’ve completed your move so you can enjoy the next stage of life to the fullest.
The good news is that moving house doesn’t need to be a major stress in your life. With the right real estate help and by managing your spine in a sensible way, you can enjoy good health throughout this exciting journey.
Dr Shaun Beovich B.App.Sc(Chiro), MCAA
CHIROPRACTOR
WAVERLEY CHIROPRACTIC CENTRE
490 Springvale Rd, Glen Waverley
Ph: 88395364
E: shaun@waverleychiro.com.au