Last week we looked at the Core 4 of Spinal Hygiene and how a simple routine can help us build healthy habits into everyday life. But there is an important question that comes next: What happens when we know what to do... but don't actually do it? Most of us have experienced this. We learn an exercise. We understand why it is important. We fully intend to do it. And then life happens. The exercise gets forgotten. The days get busy. And before we know it, a week has gone by. I

Last week we talked about one of the foundations of spinal hygiene: Motion is nutrition for the spine. But knowing that we should move is one thing. Knowing how to build movement into everyday life is another. One of the biggest challenges with home exercises is that they can quickly become another thing on an already-too-long to-do list. So rather than giving you a long list of exercises to remember, I like to think about spinal hygiene in terms of four simple areas. I call

There's a phrase I use all the time when talking to my patients about spinal hygiene: “Motion is nutrition for the spine.” Our bodies were designed to move. Yet think about a typical day. You wake up after several hours of lying still. You sit down for breakfast. You sit in the car. You sit at work. You look at a computer. You look at your phone. You drive home. You sit on the couch. Then you go to bed and start all over again tomorrow. Our modern lives have made it incredibl

When people come to see me with pain, they usually have one very understandable goal: “I just want to feel better.” And that's okay. If your back is stopping you from sleeping, your neck is making work difficult, or pain is keeping you from doing the things you enjoy, feeling better is going to be your priority. But here's something important I want my patients to understand: Feeling better is the beginning of the journey—not necessarily the end. I often explain this journey

Have you ever had an episode of back pain or neck pain, recovered, and then found yourself dealing with the same problem again months or even years later? You might wonder: “I thought this was fixed. Why is it back?” It's a very understandable question. But a return of symptoms doesn't necessarily mean that you've failed—or that the original treatment didn't work. Sometimes, it simply means that your body is being exposed to the same demands and habits that contributed to the

Think about how you look after your teeth. You brush them every day. You floss. You have regular dental check-ups. And if something isn't right, you get it looked at. Most of us don't wait until we have a terrible toothache before we start brushing our teeth! We understand that prevention and regular care are part of having healthy teeth for life. So why don't we think about our spine in the same way? Your spine is working every day Your spine doesn't get a day off. It suppor

Have you ever woken up with a sore back and thought: “What did I do yesterday?” Sometimes we assume that because our pain started yesterday, the problem must have started yesterday too. But our bodies don't always work that way. Your spine has a history Your spine has been adapting to everything you've asked of it throughout your life. How you sit at work. How you sleep. How much you move. Your favourite activities. Previous injuries. The demands of work, sport and everyday l

How do you know whether you're healthy? For many of us, the answer is simple: “I feel fine.” And when something hurts, we assume something is wrong. It seems logical—but our bodies are a little more complicated than that. Symptoms are important—but they aren't the whole story Pain and other symptoms are valuable. They're one of the ways your body gets your attention and tells you that something needs to be looked at. But the absence of symptoms doesn't necessarily mean that e

Most people think about their spine when it hurts. A sore back, a stiff neck or a headache gets our attention and often becomes the reason we finally decide to do something about our health. And that's okay. Pain is an important signal. But here's something I often say to my patients: “Pain is usually the last thing to show up and the first thing to leave.” What does that mean? Our bodies are remarkably good at adapting. We can compensate for changes in the way we move, sit,

We usually think about our spine when something hurts. But your spine—and the nervous system it protects—deserves attention every day, not just when there is a problem. Spinal hygiene is about the simple things we can do regularly to support healthy movement, function and resilience. Over the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing short Spinal Hygiene Snippets here, each exploring one simple idea that can help you better understand your spine and take an active role in looking after i