During annular tear treatment, you may be advised to make certain lifestyle changes that can help improve your overall health. One such change is to incorporate more nutrient-dense, anti-inflammatory foods into your diet, while limiting your consumption of processed meats, added sugars, saturated fats and alcohol. Sustained over the long term, these changes can have a significant impact on how you feel.

Foods to eat for neck and back pain

In general, you’ll want your diet to emphasize fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, healthy fats and unrefined carbohydrates during annular tear treatment. While a varied diet is best, the following foods can be particularly beneficial:

• Cherries
• Ginger
• Kale
• Salmon
• Sardines
• Hot peppers
• Berries
• Beets
• Walnuts
• Broccoli

You may also find it helpful to supplement your diet with calcium, fish oil, curcumin, resveratrol or other natural supplements. However, you’ll want to check with your physician before adding any new supplements to your regimen.

Other lifestyle changes that can help with annular tear treatment

In addition to watching what you eat, you can make a number of other changes that can help improve your spine health. For instance, you should maintain a healthy body weight, practice proper posture and participate in regular physical activity. You can also explore a variety of conservative annular tear treatment options, such as physical therapy and medication, to help manage your neck and back pain.

You’ll likely want to spend your first few weeks of treatment focusing on conservative therapies and lifestyle changes. Many people are able to manage their symptoms without surgery, and giving the body adequate time to heal is important. However, if you find that conservative treatments don’t produce the desired results, you may want to find out about the minimally invasive surgery at USA Spine Care. Our procedures are performed on an outpatient basis using muscle-sparing techniques, and our patients are encouraged to be up and walking on the same day as their operation.^ For more information about our minimally invasive annular tear treatment options or to request a no-cost MRI review* to find out if you are a candidate, contact us today.