Spring into activity!

Spring seems to have arrived at last – time to dust off the gardening tools or maybe do some serious maintenance on your bicycle to get it ready to roll!

Whatever your activity of choice, with more daylight and warmer temperatures, most of us are starting to increase our activity and spend more time outside.
Typically this is the time when we see more niggles and injuries from a sudden flurry of activity and exercise, even if you have maintained some fitness over winter.
It might be over enthusiastic weeding, a strenuous day of DIY or a long bike ride that has given you a pain in the neck – or in the back, arm or shoulder.

Here are some ideas to keep you ship shape and active as we move towards summer:
Morning movement: muscles and joints are at their most stiff and tight first thing in the morning. A whole body stretch will encourage mobility and reduce stiffness.

Warm up: before starting an activity that perhaps hasn’t been done for a few months, prepare your muscles and joints with a warm up to avoid any nasty surprises.

Resistance/weights: perhaps the heaviest thing you lift is a couple of bags of shopping, a heavy wheel barrow or the Hoover. Inactive people can lose 3% to 5% of muscle mass each decade which has implications for balance, mobility and falls risk. Resistance exercises can be done with household items or gardening tools.

Recovery: once you have undergone some challenge to the body systems (muscles/bones/joints), gentle stretches from top to toe will encourage better freedom of movement.

For a programme of stretches or further advice on injury prevention, come and see one of our physios. If you are unlucky enough to be experiencing injury pain, visit Bury Physio for an assessment and treatment.

We’ll help you put a spring back in your step!