I know so many of us have faced losses of various kinds these last 6 months. My grandmother passed away and still no funeral to have closure or celebrate her life with family members. My kids all have had disappointments and losses of various degrees. We are all tired of virtual gatherings and yet it is vital to stay connected in some way. We all feel like we have very little control over things in our lives right now. This is why this article will focus on what you can do and what you can control. Covid-19 is giving everyone more time at home. Now there are blessings and curses to that (Yes with 3 boys at home I’m sure you can imagine. I’ve survived 2 broken windows thus far).
As much as all of our routines and planning has been thrown off psychologists still recommend that you establish healthy routines. Continue to get good sleep, eat well, and plan your exercise routine. In fact, many people have discovered with less time going to and from places they have more time to do their home workout.
The Breakdown
We are finding there are 2 types of patients since Covid-19. See which one you fall into. One group become more sedentary: more time on social media, zoom calls/work calls, teleworking, playing virtual games with friends etc. This group has noticed increased stiffness and aches in the hips, neck, back etc. Another group decided it was a great time to pick up walking more miles or running more miles without gradually progressing leading to overuse injuries. I would say we’ve seen more people fall into category 1. And many people have been continuing to wait for the gyms to allow safe opening but even today the capacity at gyms is very limited.
If you are in the first category I would recommend the following tips to avoid stiffness and pain from prolonged sitting:
- Set a timer to go off at 20 min – or drink lots of water frequently to force you to get up more!
- Get up and take a brisk short walk
- Do several sit to stand chair squats
- Do some posture stretches (yoga type) that you can do standing up
- Go do some wall push ups or chair push ups
- Do some leg stretches for your hips due to sitting too long
- Stretch your shoulders up overhead for a full body stretch
- Do some shoulder blade squeezes and shoulder rolls to ease tension in your neck
- Do some stationary lunges and squats if your knees don’t bother you
Those should only take about 5-10 min to go through. Hydration helps you more often and it is good for your muscles, joints, and your whole body. Most of us do not drink enough fluids.
Too Much Sitting
Did you know we all are doing way too much sitting with Covid-19 and remote working and remote schooling and remote everything. You can do your body so much good by moving more often and mixing in more walks throughout your day.
To help you all with establishing a new routine during Covid-19 we are offering a FREE consultation/screening to find out what areas you are most challenged with: strength, flexibility, balance, posture, walking/running and then the option to work with us further to set up a program for you to do at home.
Who is this best suited for?
- You are struggling with developing a focused workout routine at home
- You’re not sure what your top 3 areas are to work on
- You want to take advantage of this time at home to get your strength or balance ready for upcoming plans & travels
- You want some accountability to advance your program and check that you are doing the exercises correctly to ensure success
In The End…
So yes we have very little control over COVID-19 and our new restrictions on travel and plans and social gatherings but we can control how much we sit and what we do with the time that has been given to us at home. Make the most of it!
We are happy to help you with establishing a fitness routine that will allow you to be ready for travel and visiting others again when this is all over! If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to call us at (360)-456-1444 or email us at info@penrosept.com.
New Podcast Has Gone Live!
Podcast Episode 16 – The Top 3 Reasons Knee Pain Is On The Rise During COVID
Dr. Penrose discusses that there are 3 main reasons people are having an increase in knee pain while staying home more due to COVID-19.. Some people are becoming too sedentary causing weakness and stiffness leading to pain of various kinds. Another group has decided this is a great time to take up more running from home and more walking and has created an overuse injury. Another group has knee pain due to starting a new work out routine and didn’t realize their body structure of their knees, hips, and feet place them at risk for injuries doing certain movements.
Dr. Penrose discussed how she has helped each category and gives you ways to test your own movement and body structure at home to provide practical tips to use now. She highlights some patient stories to tell you how knee pain is treated differently from person to person and how slow motion gait analysis is so important in solving knee pain with walking and running. And remember her book “Run Forever. Secrets to common running & walking injuries” goes into great detail about knee pain that will be helpful EVEN for NON runners!
iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stay-healthy-south-sound/id1460144640
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3feMt6PJtvtDBcpqPV8xXc
Now On Our Website: http://penrosept.com/stay-healthy-south-sound-podcast/#sthash.qIwYQCjE.dpbs
