Improve Your Health With These Activities
By
Pat Stanziano, MPT, Hons BSc Kin
Registered Physiotherapist
Certified McKenzie MDT Provider (MICanada)
Diploma Sport Physiotherapy (Canada)
Registered Int’l Sport Physical Therapist (IFSPT)
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (NSCA)
If you spend your days hobbling painfully from your bed to your desk or are finding that 10-15 minute walk from Union Station to your office extremely difficult, then engaging in any type of vigorous activity may be the last thing on your mind. However, getting active can significantly improve your mobility and pain levels, not to mention your health and overall quality of life. To learn more about how our team of skilled therapists – physiotherapists, chiropractors, athletic therapists, and massage therapists – can help, contact Leaps and Bounds Performance Rehabilitation in Oakville today!
What should I be aware of regarding my health?
The concept of “health” is all relative. It essentially means that your body is functioning at peak levels in terms of breathing, circulation, digestion, and other areas. It does not necessitate that you be the most physically fit person in the room.
Every step you take to help your body function at its best is a step toward becoming a healthier you. Your skilled therapist – physiotherapist, chiropractor, athletic therapist, or massage therapist – can give you exercise and other healthy recommendations to help you improve your health and feel physically better overall.
How can I improve my health with Physical Therapy?
You can do any or all of these activities on your own time, or you can talk to your skilled therapist about incorporating them into a full-fledged physical therapy program. The latter approach may be especially prudent if you’re recovering from an injury, unsure of your exercise tolerance, or dealing with a specific chronic pain issue.
Your skilled therapist – physiotherapist, chiropractor, athletic therapist, or massage therapist – can assess your health and devise a plan of care based on your needs and goals. At the same time, some safe and effective treatment options may be able to supplement the benefits of your plan. Some of these include massage and other soft tissue therapy, specific joint mobilizations or manipulations, and/or acupuncture or dry needling, to name a few.
These modalities can promote tissue repair, reduce inflammation, and increase your ability to stay active and enjoy your activities.
In addition to physical therapy, here are some activity suggestions that you might genuinely enjoy adding to your lifestyle.
Weight Training, or Pilates
Weight lifting isn’t just for “muscleheads.” It can assist you in developing the muscle tissue that supports your joints and makes you resilient to the physical stresses of your job or sport you play. Working out with weights also helps you maintain bone density and avoid muscle wasting as you age.
The recommended Canadian Guidelines for weight training for adults 18-64 are working out the large muscle groups at least twice per week.
But if lifting weights is not your thing, how about pilates? Pilates has been shown to build strength and reduce or prevent chronic low back pain.
Walking
150 minutes per week of moderate-to-vigorous intensity cardio is also recommended for adults. It’s easy to break this up into 5 x 30-minute sessions during the week.
Walking is one of those perfect activities that doesn’t require any special equipment and makes perfect sense. Why waste gasoline on a short trip when you can get some fresh air and low-impact exercise instead? Walking improves your circulation without putting undue strain on your body. It also gets your weight-bearing joints moving, which is great if you suffer from arthritis.
Sometimes walking may prove difficult if you have certain conditions affecting your load-bearing joints. Here are a couple of options that can reduce that load so that you can move a little more freely and briskly:
- Swimming
- Elliptical
- Cycling
These options reduce gravity on your joints but continue to exercise the muscles and help to get them strong and healthy. As your pain in your hips or knees start to decrease, walking can be re-introduced at a tolerable l evel and progress from there.
Running
Running is more demanding on the heart, lungs, and knees than walking, but these demands can be very beneficial to your health. The well-known “runner’s high” appears to have its own pain-relieving properties for chronic pain sufferers.
The adage “no pain, no gain” appears to apply here as well. Running’s routine may encourage your brain to reduce its baseline pain sensitivity, making your other aches and pains seem less bothersome..
Play a Sport You Love
Are your athletic days over? Nonsense.
There are many recreational sports and activities offered by clubs or community centres that range from beginner to advanced. It is well-documented that doing a physical activity that is fun enhances your physical and mental health considerably, compared to doing something for the sake of just doing it because you feel you need to.
Try your hand at a racquet sport like badminton, tennis, or the new craze – pickleball. Or if you like the social aspect of working in a team, maybe soccer or ball hockey is for you. There’s a ton to choose from; you just need to get started.
What more can I do?
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle requires effort, but once you get into a routine, it becomes much easier. Eating nutritious foods, for example, is one of the simplest ways to improve your health (although we know those sweets are hard to kick.) Physical activity is the most difficult habit to form, especially if you are hampered by chronic pain.
Some people try to mask their symptoms with anti-inflammatory or pain-relieving medications, while others, sadly, abandon the idea of being active entirely. Fortunately, there are alternatives: physiotherapy, chiropractic, athletic therapy, or massage therapy. With the assistance of one of our skilled therapists, you can claim a pain-free, healthy lifestyle, or get back to doing something that you love.
Physical therapy can help you improve your health, starting today!
Life is too short to spend it lying in bed or sitting in your chair. Get up right now and make an appointment to see us at Leaps and Bounds Performance Rehabilitation. It’s the healthiest decision you can make! If you’re in Oakville or one of the surrounding areas, our team is ready to help you!