You may ask, why we are such sticklers for practice members doing their daily traction exercises?

The answer is to restore your natural forward facing neck curve.  Now let’s go over the how and why.

To start, keep up the great work with getting adjusted regularly, that can contribute to a whopping 60% of restoring your natural neck curve. That leaves 40% of the restoration of your cervical spine up to your traction block exercises.  That is almost half, so don’t skimp on your own health. Now you know how to help restore your natural neck curve but that still leaves the WHY?

When we achieve a close to normal neck curve it allows the body to function with the proper biomechanics nature intended. Having proper biomechanics in the neck will help decrease the wear and tear on bones and discs in the cervical spine, decreasing your risk for osteoarthritis, degenerative disc disease, and other degenerative changes. The natural arch like structure of the neck allows the spinal nerves that exit out of the cervical spine to communicate with the rest of the body without disruption and/or irritation.

Getting adjusted regularly and doing your traction exercises daily can also help decrease forward head carriage. Did you know that with every inch of forward head carriage it adds an extra 10 POUNDS to your head! If your head weighs approximately 8 pounds normally and you carry it two inches in front of your shoulders that’s a 28 pound noggin you’re dragging around all day! This mixed with a straight or reversed neck curve is a recipe for rather serious issues later on in life, if they haven’t started already.

The biggest excuse that we hear every day when we check in with practice members is… drumroll please! “I just can’t find the time”. Well my answer to this my friends, make the time! If you look at it in the big picture of things, taking the time now is going to help you feel better longer as you age. In a way you are really gaining quality time in your later years by setting aside time daily to do your traction. When it boils right down to it, it is a win-win. You are helping restore the natural curvature of your neck and you are taking a few minutes to yourself to slow down in this much to fast paced world.

If you have any further questions about traction ask your doc at Crossroads Chiropractic.

-In Health,

Dr. Loni