How to Safely Return to Running after Physical Therapy
Congratulations! You graduated from physical therapy! Although you may have gone there feeling injured, you are now slowly returning to your normal, active self. As you finish your sessions, it is important to get clearance on returning to running. Your physical therapist can help you determine a realistic running goal to make sure the two of you are on the same page.
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3 Tips to Get Back Into Exercise
Routines are easy to stick to when they’re something you’re used to doing. When we fall out of our routines, it is much harder to get back into it versus staying the course and keeping the momentum going. Working fitness into a daily routine can be hard. For the most part, it’s an uncomfortable experience, especially if it’s not an activity that you particularly enjoy doing. Through my experience, I’ve seen three groups of people in regards to the experience of exercise:
4 Ways to Move More
The pandemic showed many of us that we had to get creative with our fitness outside of a gym or group workout setting. When gyms and fitness centers were closed, many people were left wondering what they were going to do to stay fit and keep working on their health. Many ingenious methods were created to combat this problem, and it helped open up a new realm of home fitness that I personally loved seeing. Fitness is an important part of our lives, or at least should be, and it’s vital to keep moving for both our mental and physical health. Even though restrictions for gym and fitness centers have lifted, I want to highlight some of my favorite ways to add in extra movements throughout the day to keep yourself physically fit.
3 Ways to Make Your Walk a Workout
Walking is a great activity to boost health, mood, and even keep you alive. It has even been coined “the 6th vital sign” as walking speed can correlate with functional ability, balance confidence, future health status, risk of hospitalization, discharge location, and mortality. To read further on other benefits of walking, see our previous blog on the 6 Health Benefits of Walking.
Tips for the Hips: 7 Flexibility & Strengthening Exercises
Your hips are some of the most unique structures within your body. Not only do 17 muscles cause movement of the hip, but also the joint itself is very diverse in its movement capabilities. Unique groups of muscles that control these movements at the hip are able to move in all three planes of motion. These planes include frontal plane (or side-to-side), sagittal plane (or forward/backward), and transverse plane (twisting or rotational movements). Because of the diverse nature of the joint, maintaining strong muscles and flexibility are key in optimizing hip health as we age. The following will be a set of exercises that are good starting points to target hip strengthening and flexibility.
5 Benefits to Exercising with a Partner
Getting started working out or staying motivated to your routine can often be challenging. Having a partner or friend can help. Let’s take a look at the benefits of working out with a partner or friend.
4 Exercises to Relieve Arm Soreness after the COVID-19 Vaccine
Muscle soreness often occurs after performing a new or an intense exercise. These days however, many people are experiencing muscle soreness in their arm following the COVID-19 vaccination. This is a common reaction and should only last a few days according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. This side effect is a sign that your body is building protection. The good news is, you can help relieve the soreness through movement! Here are just a few stretches and exercises you can use to help reduce the pain in your arm following the vaccine.
Why Your Next Prescription May Be for Exercise
Exercise can be performed at any age, and there is no exception as you grow older. In fact, older adults arguably need more exercise than their younger counterparts due to the advancing loss of muscle mass. Muscle mass decreases approximately 3–8% per decade after the age of 30, and declines even faster after the age of 60. With muscle mass loss, older adults are at increased risk of falls, injury and functional dependence. Exercise however, can improve and maintain muscle strength which can enhance overall quality of life. If you’re wondering how much exercise you should commit to, read on as we review recommendations made by the American Family Physician research team for exercise prescription for older adults 65+ years of age.
