Lifestyle Changes for a Healthy Back and Prevention of Spinal Stenosis

A healthy lifestyle is a cornerstone of back pain prevention. For individuals with spinal conditions, like spinal stenosis, lifestyle factors become especially important for symptom management. Small changes in your day-to-day routine could make a world of difference in your spinal health. 

In this article, we’ll discuss the lifestyle changes that can help you maintain a healthy back and prevent or manage spinal stenosis. 

Table of Contents

Can Stretching Prevent Spinal Stenosis?

Stretching may help prevent spinal stenosis, along with other preventative measures. 

Muscle tension and lost spinal range of motion can contribute to spinal stenosis pain. Additionally, individuals with a sedentary lifestyle who don’t stretch, exercise, and engage the spine are more likely to experience spinal degeneration, which may contribute to spinal stenosis. 

What Are The Best Stretches for Spinal Stenosis?

The best stretches for spinal stenosis include:

  • Lying lumbar flexion
    • Lie on your back with your knees bent. 
    • Inhale, and on the exhale, gently bring the knees to the chest, holding them with your arms. 
    • Remain in this stretch for 30 seconds while breathing deeply.
  • Standing lumbar flexion
    • Stand with your feet separated.
    • Gently bend forward and reach to the floor.
    • Once you reach a fully bent position, stay for a few seconds. 
    • Slowly return to the starting position.
  • Child’s pose
    • Begin on your hands and knees, with hands under the shoulders and knees under the hips. 
    • Lower your hips towards your heels and your torso and forehead to the mat, with your arms stretched out in front of you. 
    • Breathe deeply in this position for at least 30 seconds. 

How Can I Strengthen My Back With Spinal Stenosis?

You can strengthen your back with spinal stenosis with gentle, low-impact exercise, like:

  • Swimming: Swimming and water aerobics are among the best low-impact forms of exercise for older individuals and people with chronic conditions, like spinal stenosis. The water provides gentle resistance, gradually strengthening the back muscles without straining the spine. 
  • Walking: This humble form of exercise can keep your muscles strong while preserving your mobility with spinal stenosis. Walking doesn’t have a significant impact on the spine and doesn’t require any special equipment or professional guidance, making it easy to incorporate into your regular routine. 
  • Biking: While biking, the torso is tilted slightly forward, which is often a comfortable position for people with spinal stenosis. It’s also a low-impact form of aerobic exercise that can help you maintain physical fitness without worsening your spinal symptoms. Over time, biking can also support back strength with spinal stenosis. 
  • Yoga: Many yoga poses provide gentle back strengthening. Additionally, yoga helps alleviate tension and improve posture, both of which may reduce the severity of spinal stenosis symptoms. 

Why is Back Strength Important with Spinal Stenosis?

Back strength is important with spinal stenosis because the back muscles support the spine. With stronger back muscles, the muscle tissue can bear the impact of various day-to-day activities. This takes the strain off of the spinal structures, helping to prevent wear and tear. 

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Is Weightlifting Good for Spinal Stenosis?

Weightlifting can be good for spinal stenosis, but only in moderation. 

Advanced or maximal weight lifting has been linked to greater lumbar spine degeneration. Using excessively heavy weights and poor lifting techniques heightens this risk. However, moderate weight training may help you maintain strong back and abdominal muscles, which support the spine. 

Low-impact forms of exercise are considered safer than weightlifting for people with spinal stenosis. If you’ve been diagnosed with spinal stenosis or any other spinal condition, talk to your doctor before starting a new exercise routine. 

What Vitamins Help Spinal Stenosis?

The vitamins that help spinal stenosis include magnesium, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin B12, vitamin B9, and omega-3 fatty acids. 

Magnesium for Spinal Stenosis

Magnesium is a mineral that’s essential for bone strength, nerve function, muscle function, and energy production. It also manages levels of other essential nutrients, including potassium, calcium, zinc, and vitamin D. 

Taking magnesium supplements may help relieve back pain, tension, and muscle spasms associated with spinal stenosis. In a 2013 clinical study, two weeks of intravenous magnesium infusion and four weeks of oral magnesium supplementation may lessen pain intensity and enhance lumbar spine mobility in patients with chronic lower back pain and nerve pain. 

Vitamin C for Spinal Stenosis

Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that’s known for supporting the immune system. A lesser-known benefit of this vital nutrient is that it promotes healthy collagen formation. Collagen is a key protein in the spinal discs. 

Additionally, vitamin C deficiency has been linked to spinal pain, particularly in the lower back. Vitamin C supplementation, therefore, may support long-term spinal health. 

Vitamin D for Spinal Stenosis

Found in a few foods and produced by the body in response to sun exposure, vitamin D is a nutrient that supports calcium absorption. It’s considered one of the critical components of healthy bones. 

Vitamin D helps prevent falls and bone fractures, which are significant risks among lumbar spinal stenosis patients. Additionally, vitamin D deficiency is prevalent among people with lumbar spinal stenosis. With these facts in mind, vitamin D is one of the best supplements for spinal stenosis patients. 

Vitamin B12 for Spinal Stenosis

Vitamin B12 supports nerve function, red blood cell formation, cell metabolism, and DNA production. It’s primarily found in animal products, like red meat and eggs. 

With its role in nerve function, vitamin B12 may help prevent or lessen neurological symptoms associated with spinal stenosis, like numbness, weakness, and tingling. Additionally, vitamin B12 supplementation can help patients avoid a deficiency in this nutrient, which has been associated with spinal stenosis. 

Vitamin B9 for Spinal Stenosis

Vitamin B9 is also known as folate. It’s found in eggs, legumes, citrus fruits, and fortified foods. Research indicates that vitamin B9 supplementation may promote healing in patients with spinal cord injuries. It’s thought to support the repair process for peripheral nerve damage by encouraging Schwann cell growth and nerve growth factor secretion. 

Omega-3 Fatty Acids for Spinal Stenosis

Omega-3 fatty acids are a type of polyunsaturated fatty acid (“healthy” fats) with anti-inflammatory benefits. They’re thought to help with spinal cord injuries by reducing inflammation and encouraging neuroregeneration. These benefits may also help spinal stenosis patients with neurological symptoms. 

Other Lifestyle Changes for Spinal Stenosis

Along with low-impact exercise, stretching, and vitamins for spinal stenosis, the following lifestyle changes support your spinal health: 

  • Quit smoking: Nicotine is a vasoconstrictor, meaning that it causes the blood vessels to constrict. This reduces blood flow throughout the body, depriving the spine of oxygen and nutrients. Quitting smoking can support your body’s recovery process for spinal stenosis. 
  • Optimize nutrition: Aside from nutritional supplementation, what you eat can make a large impact on your spinal health. Avoid inflammatory foods (like fried foods, baked goods, processed meats, and refined carbohydrates) and focus on anti-inflammatory foods (like vegetables, fruits, fatty fish, nuts, and olive oil). 
  • Maintain a healthy weight: Shedding excess pounds reduces the impact on the spine, helping to lessen spinal stenosis symptoms and improve overall health. 

Talk to your doctor about other ways to adjust your lifestyle to prevent spinal stenosis and maintain a healthy spine.