Spring Cleaning Your Body

Spring Cleaning Your Body
By Dr. Andrew Piazza

Springtime is here at last, and that means everyone is emerging from their hibernation and starting to move again. Most of us have a tendency to stagnate a bit physically during the winter months, from a combination of the cold weather and short hours of sunlight. And, similarly, most of us have a habit of rushing headfirst into spring after being cooped up in the house for too long.
That rushing back into physical activity often leads to a host of new aches and pains... and even more old aches and pains that resurface when we start moving and exercising a little too much and a little too fast. Who could blame us? Springtime is full of this rush to renew life and energy, and so it is not surprising that we get a little overly enthusiastic in our exercise.

All the same, it's a good idea to ease back into physical activity at least as much as your particular strain of Cabin Fever will allow. Tendons and ligaments that haven't been stressed in a while tend to weaken and get stiff, so sudden and vigorous exertion will tend to put you down for the count with a nasty sprain. Muscles that haven't had to support your spine and the rest of your skeletal structure during physical exercise will weaken and stiffen as well.

Since those muscles and tendons and ligaments all protect your joints, overwhelming those defenses by overdosing it in the gym or on the track could also lead to a nasty acute injury to the delicate joint of the spine. As anyone who's been bedridden with severe back or neck pain knows, this is an experience you don't want to have.

So spend a week in the "Spring Cleaning" of your body. Move, but don't move too much. Start walking before you start running. Lift weights before you start lifting heavy ones. Put an eye to your diet and clear out the heavy winter food in favor of more fresh fruits and vegetables. If you haven't been in to Triune in a while, check in with us and get your spine checked and cleared. Small, sub-acute (injuries not yet bad enough to trip off pain sensors) problems in the spine can interfere with your coordination and set you up for one of those weekend warrior type injuries.
In other words, clear out the cobwebs. Just don't do it so fast that you tear the house down!