Spring is in the Air
The clocks have gone forwards and the days are longer. The birds are chirping and the buds are starting to show. The daffs have done their bit and the tulips are blooming. The promise of what lies ahead is exciting. So what about you? Are you ready? Are you excited about this Spring and Summer? Are you feeling fit and healthy and ready for action?
Are you emerging?
If you’re anything like me I feel this time of year I start to emerge from my winter chrysalis. I venture into the garden to investigate the weeds and tackle the lawn (more suitable for a sheep at this point), I sort out my clothes and things I no longer need, spring clean the house and start to increase my exercise regime.
Since lockdown and getting a dog, I’ve felt less need to return to the gym with twice-daily walks keeping me active. This year however I have recently returned to classes and am loving the spin and core classes in particular. Today I attended Les Mill’s Barre class for the first time. It’s basically ballet with some weights. I laughed at the things I found myself doing, I’m no ballerina and some of the positions I’ve not tried since I was 8. It was fun and a great start to the day. Will be interesting to see if I can still move tomorrow!
In my treatment room, I’m also starting to see people who are emerging. Some have been trying to keep warm over the winter and have been sitting more and are now presenting with tight, stiff hips and backs. Others have been working long hours from home at uncomfortable workstations with infrequent breaks resulting in neck and shoulder, wrist and elbow pain. For others the shorter days have meant less time for exercise and fitness has dropped off resulting in injuries as they start to ramp their exercise back up.
Handy Hints for ‘Emergers’
If you’ve been inside and fairly sedentary over the last few months I really recommend going outside. A short walk (or a longer one if you have time) will make a world of difference to your physical and mental health. Movement is a great way to help ease joint and muscle stiffness. Movement also helps to improve our circulation which can help with pain relief. If you’re able to stretch and you know which muscles are tight, gentle stretches can help to ease off tightness. Getting up from sitting every 30 minutes can also help stave off muscle tightness.
Making sure the ‘workstation’ you use is well set up for you. A low chair or sofa isn’t great for hips and backs, nor is continued laptop or iPad use if you’re constantly looking down. Raising screens up on a stand and reducing your neck bend can significantly help to reduce neck and shoulder pain.
As you start to move more, increasing the distance and speed you move at can have a big impact on improving fitness.
For those increasing their speed, time, distance with something, taking time to do some cross-training to include core, flexibility, strength and cardio work is also very helpful. Often people tend to focus on one or two sports/activities and just do them but including some training in the other disciplines is so effective at improving performance and helping to stave off injuries.
If you’d like. more information on any of these things, workstation set up, advice/treatment with an injury or ache or pain please do make contact.