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by Julie Hereford, Core Rehab Services, Inc.
Have you made a commitment to start a regular exercise program as part of your New Year’s resolutions? Will this be the year that you incorporate exercise into your regular lifestyle? Millions of Americans make this resolution, but the majority of them have a hard time maintaining this commitment. So what interferes with your ability to get started and continue a program that allows you to live your best life? One of the most important and probably obvious things to consider is to set realistic goals for yourself. Start simple—start to move more. Even if you start by just getting up from your desk once an hour and taking a walk around the office, you will be making progress. Any movement is better than stasis. Most of us live remarkably sedentary lives: we sit in our cars during our commutes to our jobs; we look for the closest parking space; we sit at our computers and read and respond to e-mails; and we sit while we follow up on phone calls. We go to meetings and sit for interminable hours; then we sit down in the boss’ office to plan our next steps or sit with our co-workers and drink coffee and catch up on the office gossip. We sit in our cars for the evening commute home; sit with the children to check over their homework and then, exhausted from all this sitting, we sit in front of the television in order to unwind from all of our sitting. What we need to do is to move. Even if all you do is to get up from your desk once an hour and take a brisk five-minute walk around the office, by the end of the day, you will have walked for 40 minutes. If you park your car a couple of blocks away from the office door, you can up that to 45 to 50 minutes of activity every day. Our bodies need movement in order to maintain normal muscle tone and joint health. Have you ever waken with stiff joints, but by the time you get your shower and get dressed, your stiffness has disappeared? Your joints become stiff because they haven’t moved. Much like oil that lubricates an engine and allows its components to move with less wear and tear, joint movement stimulates the production of a lubricant inside of the joint called synovial fluid. This fluid lubricates the joints and provides them with nutrition, keeping the joints healthy. Plus, muscles that are not allowed to move through normal ranges of motion on a regular basis will shorten and become less efficient, leading to altered movement patterns, which may eventually result in pain or injury. So, from this you can see that movement—any amount of movement—is good for the health of your joints and muscles. If normal movement, or even static positions, causes you pain, or if your movements are inordinately limited, you should have this evaluated. While it is true that normal aging will result in decreased mobility and function, these changes should only be minimal. Do not assume that joint stiffness, decreased mobility or pain with normal movement is just a part of life. Aspirin and Tylenol may help reduce pain and stiffness, but it is not a long-term solution. If you have any of these conditions, consider having an evaluation by a physical therapist to help identify the source of your movement dysfunction and to develop an exercise program to overcome it. Freedom of movement is an excellent step toward living your best life.
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