Spring is just around the corner and that means a lot more outdoors time. However, if you suffer from knee pain, arthritis, low back pain or other aches and pains that keep you from being active, there are things you can easily do to become more active.

Change How You Sit

A lot of aches and pains relate to how we use our bodies in the day. Many back pain sufferers actually begin having back pain, because they sit too much. Here are some simple solutions to help you feel better:

• Stand up and move around every 30 minutes, even for 1-2 minutes.
• At work, vary your activities. Don’t sit for 4 hours in a row for example. Vary your activities so you can be walking, standing, sitting, squatting or other positions. The key is to mix up your positions and move throughout the day.
• When you do work or play at a computer, make sure you have good posture. A good rule of thumb is that the top 1/3rd of the screen should be at eye level, your shoulders comfortably back and the keyboard / mouse a little lower than the height of your elbow.

Get active

Being active, doesn’t mean you have to go out and run a mile. Make it simple and something you enjoy, otherwise you won’t stick with it. Many studies show that to improve heart health and overall conditioning, you just need 30 minutes of walking a day. This can significantly make you healthier and stronger.

• Start with an easy goal. If you tire after 10 minutes of walking, start with that, then slowly increase your time each day until you get to 20-30 minutes.
• Make time for activity. In today’s busy world, if it doesn’t get planned, it won’t happen. Therefore, make a time where you can get out everyday or at least 3-4 days a week.
• Do an activity you enjoy. For some, this is a group class and for others it is a sport. Whatever it is for you, find local activities or just get out and walk.

Eat, Sleep, Drink

You are what you eat and do, so if you don’t feel well or are in pain, you can feel better rather quickly by simply eating well, drinking enough water and getting enough rest. This is different for everybody, but the bottom line is get enough vegetables and fruits in your diet, limit the intake of fried or processed foods and layoff the sugars. Did you know that a can of soda actually contains about 6 packets of sugar! It’s OK to treat yourself to goodies now and again, but make smart choices overall about what you eat.

Get enough rest! Sleep is the time your body needs to rebuild after using it all day. Instead of staying up late to watch TV or be on the computer, tape your favorite show and do something different before bed. More and more studies are showing that working on electronics before bed actually makes you sleep worse.

Drink enough water. Your body is almost 80% water, and you expel a lot through breathing and going to the bathroom. Make sure you replace this fluid. It is needed to make everything in your body run. Many common aches and pains, such as headaches, are attributed to being chronically dehydrated. You don’t have to be thirsty to be dehydrated. When you slurp down a soda, it quenches your thirst, but can actually make you lose water in your body.

Get help if you are in pain

If you suffer from low back pain, neck pain, headaches, joint pain or you aren’t happy with the way you feel, physical therapy can help. Our physical therapists have years of training in analyzing and treating pain with movement. Not only do we quickly relieve your pain, but we improve your strength, movement and ability to do the activities you love. We also teach you how to maintain your results and keep progressing toward your goals. To find out more how we can help you, give us a call!

Our bodies are made to move and rely on a finely-tuned balance of proper posture, strength, coordination, chemical levels, blood pressure and more. When you don’t move on a consistent basis or experience changes to your health, you may start to feel stiff and achy, especially in the mornings. Poor health, injury, a sedentary lifestyle and poor nutrition are also often to blame for the constant nagging aches or pains you may be experiencing.

Why do I ache in the morning?

Your tissues get irritated in the day and build up a chronic layer of inflammation. This may be subtle enough where you don’t notice it too much at the end of the day. However, overnight the inflammation thickens and makes your tissues inelastic, while also irritating the affected area further. The result is aching stiff joints or muscles in the morning, until you get moving. Then the inflammation becomes more liquid like, allowing the tissues to move better, thus hurting less.

If this cycle continues to happen, a chronic deterioration of the tissues can happen, often leading to severe problems down the road. Therefore, it is important to address your constant aches and pains, before they become severe.

Here are some tips for relieving common aches and pains

• Stay hydrated and drink plenty of water. If not, your tissues can become drier, which slows down normal chemical processes in your body.
• Get enough sleep. Too little sleep drastically affects the hormones in your body that are needed to maintain your delicate body chemistry. This can affect your muscles and other tissues normal functioning.
• Exercise regularly. This makes your body more efficient at pumping blood around the body and removing normal metabolic wastes that are produced.
• Improve your posture. If you sit at a desk or computer, get up every 30 minutes for a few seconds stretch. Move around and stand up to be straighter.
• Eat bright colored fruit and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables with bright colors often have a higher concentration of antioxidants and vitamins that assist the body in repairing itself and normal functions.
• Get a physical therapy consultation. If you have aches and pains that aren’t going away, or if you have a recent or past injury that keeps you from doing the things you love to do, you need to seek out the advice of our expert physical therapists. Physical therapy can really help you quickly relieve aches and pains for the long-term.

As you age, your muscle tissue actually dries out a little, tightening. This causes a loss of range of motion in your joints and tissues. In addition to the loss of range of motion, it can really limit your active lifestyles and hinder day-to-day, normal motions. Tasks that used to be simple, such as dressing or squatting down to tie your shoes, now become extremely difficult. A regular stretching program helps lengthen your muscles and makes daily living activities much easier.

Everyone can learn to stretch, regardless of age or flexibility. Stretching should be a part of your daily routine, whether you exercise or not. It does not have to involve a huge amount of time, but stretching can end up giving you huge results!

Here are just a few of the benefits you can expect from a regular stretching program:

• Reduced muscle tension
• Increased range of movement in the joints
• Enhanced muscular coordination
• Increased circulation of the blood to various parts of the body
• Increased energy levels (resulting from increased circulation)

Stretching is a natural part of what we do on a daily basis. You might notice that if you have been sitting in a particular position for a long time, you stretch unconsciously. It feels good! In addition to that good feeling, a consistent stretching program will produce large gains in flexibility and joint movement. Be kind to your muscles and they will be kind to you!