Have you ever suffered from Spring syndrome?
This Spring I am prepared.
This Spring I have clocked that we are in March.
This Spring I have inhaled deeply.
This Spring I am prepared for the annual descendance of the following issues:
• Sprained lumbar spine muscles
• Locked spinal facet joints
• Sciatica
• Restricted rib joints
• Rotator cuff tendonitis
What, I hear you ask, could possibly happen in March to cause all of these painful issues?
Well, the answer is two-fold and really very simple…….
Golf and Gardening.
As the lighter nights draw out, the drier weather appears and we start to see more of our distant star in our skies, we, the people of Scotland decide to launch back into both of these activities all guns blazing as if we’ve forgotten that we’ve completely hibernated indoors for the last 4-5 months.
Before golfing or gardening we tend not to warm-up before, or stretch afterwards, and we rarely pace ourselves. When we see the sun out for the day we plough on for four hours as if there’s never going to be another dry day again for the next six weeks. In fairness this is often true, but our skeleton and the muscles attached to it aren’t quite as sympathetic.
Golf and gardening involve movement patterns that we don’t tend to do on a day-to-day basis and as such are not in the habit of performing safely. So, here are some top tips to help keep you safe:
• Warm up before any activity by fast-walking, jogging on the spot, circling your arms, lunging and gently twisting from side to side with your trunk
• Stretch after any activity by leaning your arms against the doorframe, pulling your foot to your bum when standing, taking your fingers to your toes and stretching one arm at a time down to the side of your body
• Avoid stooping. Split your stance and bend your knees like you are proposing to get to ground level
• Avoid bending and twisting at the same time (the discs inbetween your spinal bones do not like this!)
• Gradually increase the time that you spend doing each activity over a number of weeks, and take breaks
If you would like any further information on how to prevent Spring Syndrome or to help get you back on form ready to work at your best, please get in touch at info@corehealthchiropractic.co.uk or call on 01292 502 292.