09/08/2025
Here are some practical tips on how to reduce stress:
Get Moving:
Physical activity has been shown to help the body release endorphins, which can produce a positive feeling. It also helps reduce anxiety and stress.
Find movement activities (doesn’t have to be exercise) that you enjoy, so you can have fun while you feel better as you do them. For example, rehab technician Anna Roslander enjoys running, and physical therapist James McMahon, DPT, PT practices yoga.
Moving your arms as if making snow angels, while standing against a wall. This stretches the shoulders, neck and upper back, where many patients carry their stress.
Take Shortcuts:
Find ways to make semi-homemade meals, saving time with pre-cut produce or frozen veggies, and always having ingredients for your go-to meals. When you cook, you can also prepare food in larger batches so you can take it to work, or create your own freezer meals for upcoming weeks.
Hydrate and Heat:
Increase their water intake to stay hydrated, which makes it easier for the muscle tissue to clear out any bad hormones released under stress. She also recommends applying heat, which helps with relaxation and increasing blood supply to the muscles clearing out the hormones and loosening tight muscles.
Create a Meal Plan:
Planning, in general, creates a sense of order and decreases the stress of the unknown, and meal planning can be helpful for this too.
Meal plans decrease the stress and time around deciding what to eat when you’re already hungry. They give you clear action steps and make it possible to bulk prep and shop, which saves time in your busy schedule.
Make Time to Be Present:
Carefully protecting time for personal relaxation is challenging on good days, let alone on stressful ones.
Making time to be still and present in what’s happening now versus ruminating over the past or worrying about the future can be beneficial to preventing or managing the stress we experience.
Consider Nourishment as Self-Care:
It can be easy to skip meals or make food choices we wouldn’t otherwise make when we’re stressed. Unfortunately, that can lead to unstable blood sugar, excessive hunger that can lead to overeating later or food choices that don’t help us achieve our health goals.
Eating regularly timed meals or snacks and having a nourishment list. Choose several meal or snack ideas that you like, things that don’t take much effort and that you always have on hand. Aim for a balance of carbohydrate, protein and healthy fat, remembering to add vegetables. Then you can use this list to quickly choose something to eat.
Use Technology the Right Way:
Technology can be a stressor with its constant notifications and immediate access to time-consuming distractions. It can also be a helpful tool.
The Headspace app is broad enough to apply to anyone, helps you find your center, find a healthy breathing pattern and get clarity with key points and a goal of the day he says.
Find Your Support:
Remember the good things and supportive people in your life. Should you need someone to talk to, it’s helpful to have your support network.
Are aches and pains stressing you out and getting in the way of your daily activities?
If simple home interventions are not helping to lessen aches, pains and discomfort, it’s time to see a pain and injury experts.
