To Keep a Healthy Spine, Try Following the 3 P’s

Regular stretching, strengthening and low-impact exercises, especially Pilates, can help reduce chronic or acute back pain for many people. Most significantly, exercising and resting with your back in a neutral position can keep your spine healthy, explains Ronald Tolchin, D.O., medical director of Miami Neuroscience Institute’s Spine Center.

Dr. Tolchin refers to spine care as the “three P’s: Pilates, Plank and Pillow.”

[Transcript]
Dr. Tolchin:
Today, I'm here to talk to you about maintaining a healthy spine; what I call the three Ps, Pilates, plank, and pillow. So first I'd like to start with Pilates. This is a form of exercise that places the spine in neutral, and so what that means is not too much flexion and not too much extension, and then begins to strengthen the core muscles in that position. The second P stands for planking and that is maintaining your body in the chest down position while on your elbows, and you're strengthening your abdominal muscles and your back muscles at the same time. The third and final P stands for pillow. It's important to maintain that spine in a neutral position while you're in bed. So if you sleep on your side, put a pillow between your knees. If you sleep on your back, put a pillow or two under your knees. If you sleep on your stomach, put a little pillow under your abdomen and pelvis. Remember that a plank a day keeps the doctor away.