When your body is experiencing pain, your mental wellbeing can suffer just as much as your physical. It is important to realize that the aches and pains that your body experiences are in fact the way that your body communicates that something is amiss and needs your attention. The good news is that exercise can be the very best thing you do for your mental and physical body and can even help to prevent certain types of pain from becoming chronic. Read more here. However, the wrong exercises at the wrong time could hinder rather than help.
Below is a progressive formula, plus tools, to think through your personal skeletal system and how to maximize your workouts without compromise.
1. Adjustment
Whether you self adjust or see a chiropractor, ensuring your muscles are in alignment with your skeletal system is an essential foundation for the body in movement.
2. Relaxation
When muscular imbalances happen, other muscles overcompensate, creating aches, pains and stiffness. These flare ups need attention through relaxation techniques like foam rolling and breath work. Breathwork, while it might not seem like much “work,” is an especially helpful tool for calming a nervous system that is on guard due to pain.
3. Trigger Point Release
Using a tool like a lacrosse ball, golf ball or thera cane can help release knots that have formed due to repetitive positions or movements. The goal is not to create more pain, but to help the muscles relax - when using these tools on your own body, go gently!
4. Lengthen
Elongating shortened, stressed muscles through active stretching ensures the body is prepared to perform movement through proper range of motion. Take care to stretch just to a place of borderline discomfort rather than all out pain.
5. Positional Strength
Training under used muscles to ensure you can maintain proper posture throughout a movement or exercise’s full range of motion is critical to progressing to more advanced physical activity.
6. Maintain
Returning to normal activity is important. Ensure your workout regimen includes maintenance exercises that teach the body how to move optimally whilst keeping your musculoskeletal in alignment.
The body is a magical thing and we would love to help you keep it happy and healthy.
Click HERE to learn more about the Wellview services available to you. We can’t wait to work with you!
– Casey Edmonds, MPH, CHWC, CMS, CPT, CILC
Health Advisor | Email Casey
