04/05/2024
In Star Wars the force can be a good thing; in physical therapy force is a bad thing.
You’ve heard Dr. Jerry say in our Therapy Thursday episodes (and in person if you’ve been treated by him) that we never want you to force yourself into pain when doing stretches and exercises because stretching into pain can cause more trauma which can cause more injury and pain. If you need help with what stretches and exercises to do please see our At Home Exercises playlist (https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEUbbdokGgwRq1zNbVrPYlCDiUkKyDQ6Rfor) for 70+ one minute videos of stretches and exercises you can do at home; or come see us to let us help you love your life.
Here are some facts about stretching to help you:
Stretches to combat a lack of movement
If you sit at a desk all day, you may be doing your posture a disservice. Many sedentary days can lead to neck and shoulder problems and tight muscles in the hips. (We have videos about workplace ergonomics on our YouTube channel)
Get out of your chair and move around for a few minutes every hour.
Focus on stretches that move the neck, shoulders, and hips, in particular. Even simple movements such as putting your arms above your head or squeezing your shoulders back while sitting at your desk are helpful.
Stretch before you exercise
Stretching your muscles for 30 seconds before exercising will help increase blood flow to the muscles and warm them up, reducing the chance of injury while exercising
Select the correct activity level for your current fitness
We get it, sometimes you see a viral video of someone doing something great and get inspired; maybe it’s someone that overcame an injury to do American Ninja Warrior or run a marathon or something. Having goals is a good thing but goals take time to work up to and forcing yourself towards that end goal faster than your body is ready can cause injury which will make attaining that goal take even longer. Start light and take it slow, easing into increasing levels of difficulty as you’re able to comfortably, remember that even 1% progress daily ads up to 365% progress over a year.
