Move to Better Health
One of the best things you can do for your body is to keep it in motion, not just small motions, the full range of motion.
Rather than stretching, try mobilizing. Run each joint through its complete range of motion without any resistance. You don’t need weights, just move each joint slowly through the limits of how it moves. Shake out your joints and muscles. Wiggle to loosen things up.
This kind of movement can actually help with the healing of joints, especially after injuries or surgery. It’s a simple form of rehab you can do on your own.
More and more research supports movement to speed recovery. Normally, Back pain responds much better to movement than to bed rest. Bed rest used to be the prescription, but better research supports movement over bed rest. Even things like whiplash heal faster with movement than with an immobilization collar. But check with your doctor.
The rule is to move your joints as much as you can as soon as you can. If it’s too painful, back off a bit. Don’t use any weights, just move each joint through its complete range of motion 10 to 20 times.
Joint movements can also prevent injury. The stimulation of the joint and connective tissues encourages blood flow to the region. It can also help keep muscles in balance. Out of balance muscles, when one side is stronger than the other, can pull the joint out of alignment.
We weren’t designed to sit on the couch for hours at a time. Our joints are designed for movement. Our body doesn’t even like to hold still for long. We start to wiggle and squirm if forced to be still. We ache to move.
When you do sit, try to get up every 15 minutes and walk around. This is a great use of commercial breaks. Get up, walk around the room, flex your legs, bend over, move your shoulders, and twist your wrists. Try to flex all your muscles, but at low intensity. While your program is on, you can repeat the motion at least 25 times. Don’t stretch and hold, move. Flex, straighten, repeat. It only takes minutes and can speed up healing, prevent pain and make you feel better.
