At this time of year, many people are focused on fitness so it’s worth looking at what fitness really means. The dictionary defines fit as “sound physically and mentally, healthy.” Using that definition, many “fitness” routines fall short of the goal. If you don’t enjoy running and dread every workout, you’re falling short of the “sound mentally” portion. Exercise should be enjoyable, reduce stress, and leave you feeling better, not worse.
Losing weight, getting to the gym more often or getting into “better shape” are all common new year goals. These all require increasing your amount of physical activity. More activity is great for your health, energy levels, sleep, and mood. However, ramping up your activity level too quickly after a holiday season of eating, drinking and being merry can lead to pain, injury, and disappointment if your body isn’t ready for it.
NO PAIN, NO GAIN? HOW ABOUT, SORE BUT SAFE.
Exercise should also leave you feeling better physically. If you can run a fast time in a 5k, but have aches and pains for days after, you’re not “sound physically.” If you are increasing your PR in the squat rack, but your joint pain is increasing right along with it, you’re not “sound physically” either. Sure, some muscle soreness and fatigue after a hard workout is normal. But if you’re having pain that doesn’t go away, sore joints or trouble moving after exercise, you’re developing movement dysfunction along with your fitness.
Go back to the dictionary and you’ll find that dysfunction is “impaired or abnormal functioning.” So, movement dysfunction is impaired or abnormal movement. When someone has a movement problem like a sore joint, limited range of motion or strength loss, the brain finds a way to get the body to do what it wants. That usually means moving in a way that is less than optimal. For a while, it works. But eventually it leads to injury.
PREVENTATIVE MEDICINE
Your physical therapist is an expert in human movement and can help you safely reach your fitness goals. People think of PTs as the person to see after an injury, but a visit before you
change your activity level could prevent injury in the first place. An evaluation by your PT will include assessment of your strength, range of motion, and functional movement patterns – think jumping, running, squatting, carrying. Getting minor problems fixed early means fewer visits to PT, less pain, and improved performance.
Most common injuries from new fitness routines are caused by underlying weakness, range of motion deficits, or compensatory movement patterns. Your PT will find these during your assessment. They can then prescribe exercises or movements to address the issues found and get you safely moving into the new year!
The other common way people get injured working towards their resolution is with overtraining or doing too much too soon. Physical therapists are also experts in exercise prescription and program design. Your PT can help you create a routine specific to your needs and goals that will progress appropriately and keep you out of trouble.
So, stop only thinking of your PT after you’re injured. In this case, it’s true that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Seeing your Physical Therapist before you start on your resolution can keep you on track, injury free, and help you reach your goals for the new year!
You know exercise is important to your health. It helps you feel better physically, gives you energy, and helps you deal with the stress of your busy life. But what do you do when life gets too busy to take an exercise class, go for a run, or go to the gym?
It’s easy to start skipping exercise when life gets busy, but that leads to less energy, and aches and pains cropping up. This makes you want to exercise even less and leads to a downward spiral. That means that finding time to exercise when life is busy is even more important.
If you are having aches or pains that are affecting your exercise routine, be sure to have us check them out!