Maintaining good posture does more than make you look confident and poised — it can go a long way in helping prevent back pain and alleviating symptoms of existing conditions like facet disease. When you are slouching or slumping over, your muscles must strain to keep you balanced, potentially exacerbating the symptoms of facet disease and other degenerative conditions that are already painful enough.

Effective facet disease treatment involves more than just sitting up straight. Many patients with this condition utilize a combination of gentle exercise, healthy diet, self-care measures like hot/cold therapy and pain medicines to help manage their symptoms. With this said, however, maintaining proper posture may reduce the severity of facet disease symptoms because:

• It keeps the spine aligned. Good posture keeps the spine’s natural curve in line.
• It takes pressure off of spinal components. As we’ve learned, slouching and slumping places extra strain on the muscles and ligaments that support the spine.
• It may slow spine degeneration. The body’s natural degeneration process may accelerate if the spine is placed under strain from poor posture, high-impact exercise and other detrimental factors.

“Good posture” entails standing tall with your shoulders back, your head in line with your body and your weight in the balls of your feet. When sitting, keep your neck and upper back upright and your shoulders relaxed.

If you are undergoing treatment for facet disease and have not been able to experience adequate relief from your symptoms with lifestyle changes and conservative treatments alone, you may be a candidate for minimally invasive surgery at USA Spine Care. Our outpatient procedures are performed by board-certified surgeons+ and involve less risk and smaller incisions than traditional open spine operations.^

Contact USA Spine Care to discover more about our minimally invasive approach to facet disease treatment. If you’re ready to learn if you are a candidate for our procedures, ask us how to receive an MRI review* for free.

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