It’s February already. Are you still diligently hitting the gym, walking more and further like you resolved in the New Year? Congratulations!
Are you overdoing it?
Some people tend to start their new regime overenthusiastically which can cause a shock to the system. Tendons and ligaments struggle to adapt to a sudden, prolonged workload. You may feel stiffness in the ankles, legs, or lower back.
You don’t need to stop exercising, but it’s important to exercise correctly.
All in line
When our muscles ache or joints are stiff we take it for granted that everything will go back to normal after resting. When we’re older, we take anti-inflammatory painkillers to help.
There’s nothing wrong with this if we get our body back to the original working condition and the correct movement pattern. In the optimal situation, the muscles and all other structures work together like in a well-oiled chain reaction. This allows our movements to be fluid and efficient like swinging the leg to take a step. A bit like when your car is running absolutely smoothly, with no funny noises.
What happens though if some muscles along this chain are too tight or too lazy or a joint is slightly “out of position” without necessarily hurting? This can be after a minor injury or a stressful training period or too many hours spent on the sofa.
It is like driving a car with a flat tyre, a misaligned axis, and unresponsive steering wheel. You can still drive the car but it will cause more problems.
Getting out of sync
It is like driving a car with a flat tyre, a misaligned axis, and unresponsive steering wheel. You can still drive the car but…Is this not going to create more problems?
The same works for our body: for example if your foot tends to collapse inwardly and your calves are tight, your knees most likely will tend to knock a bit together bringing more pressure under the knee cup. Furthermore your thigh might then be slightly more twisted inwardly creating more tension in the outside of the hips …and so on. And this works as well in the other direction, from you pelvis and back down to the feet.
Need a Body MOT?
So, are you still surprised if you feel some unexpected aches and pains? Even without a trauma, if you continue to use your body incorrectly, sooner or later something will start to hurt. Again, this is not about stop exercising! It is about recognising that the body, like your car, needs some help to be rebalanced in order to continue working smoothly for the next 100.000 miles.
I bet if the aches that you feel were equivalent of the noises or the alarm light in your car, you would run to the garage and have it checked out.
The body has a good tolerance and ability of self-repair. But if we keep doing things in the wrong way the structures adapt to an incorrect function and wear out more easily or…start to hurt.
Here some tips:
- Be kind to your feet, massage them with your hands or with a spiky ball before you go to bed or after a long walk or your work out. This will relax all the muscles in the back of your leg
- Consider buying a Foam Roller …and use it. This may be uncomfortable but it releases tension.
- Stretch calves and thigh muscles AFTER a walk
- Stretch more after exercising.
- Try some “Sun salutations” stretches to start the day
- Check your posture at work and change position quite often when on the sofa
If something is aching or hurting for over a week and is not improving contact you physio or your trusted practitioner.
It is most likely that the problem will not go away by itself; it will just prepare the ground for a new restriction and problem.
Our Offer
To help you helping yourself Swissphysio is offering a 10% discount on a wonderful Thai Stick Foot massage or a relaxing Shiatsu Massage until the end of February 2020.
Call us on 0191 296 0567 to book your appointment