Exercising when you’re Stiff, Sore, Unsure or Injured: Rule No 4

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If we wait til we’re feeling 100% to get started doing any sort of exercise- whether it’s a few exercises at home, a workout in the gym or any kind of cardio activity- that day may never come!

 

So, over the past few weeks we’ve been looking at ways we can keep ouselves in ‘ship shape’, moving towards our health and fitness goals, even if we’re feeling really stiff & sore, unsire or injured…

Or all of the above!

 

The good news is that over the past 20+ years, I’ve led thousands of people through this process and I’ve been sharing my 4 top tips, or ‘Rules’ to help you work out:

What you should and shouldn’t do, how far you should push and what to do next.

Those we covered in ‘Rules 1, 2 and 3’.

 

If you haven’t read them or watched the videos that dive into the specifics, make sure you catchup on the most important stuff you need to know (below)

Rule 1 Don’t Push into Pain (or at least not much more pain)

Rule 2 Stop just Short of Fatigue

Rule 3  Taking note of How you Feel After Exercising

 

We’re onto our last Rule today, so without further ado…

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Exercising if you’re a bit Stiff, Sore, Injured or Unsure: Rule 3

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We all know we need to exercise…

Most of us even like how much better we feel after we’ve exercised.

Yet, we are often in a place where we’re struggling with some sort of niggle, maybe even recovering from an injury or illness.

And let’s face it, for most of us that’s all the excuse we need to slack off and opt out!

The past few weeks I’ve been talking about how much better it is for our healing process if we actually do take the time and make the effort to move…

It really helps move us forwards and out of the downhill spiral into further pain, stiffness, debilitation and ill-health that comes when we don’t keep ourselves exercising.

And it doesn’t have to take much time or even be overly intense.

If you’ve been following me for more than a few minutes you’ll know I’m all about keeping it real!

There’s no use overwhelming ourselves and aiming for the skies with exercise and changing habits, only to end up disappointed in ourselves and our efforts, then paralysed and doing nothing.

A little bit, done well and done often is usually your best bet!

So, if you have some doubts about how much exercise you should do, how far to push and how to know when to stop, make sure you read parts 1 and 2 of this series…

Better still, I explain about putting limits around your exercise in Rule 1 video here and knowing the signs to look out for about when to stop in Rule 2’s Video here

And today, in Rule 3 I want to alert you to the next factor you need to consider when you’re starting out, or returning to exercising and are not yet 100%…

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Exercising when you’re stiff, sore or injured: Rule No 2

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This month I’m sharing my guidelines with you about Exercising when you’re sore, stiff or have an existing condition or injury…

For many of us, that might feel like a lot of the time?

A lot of people have aches and pains or a long term condition that make them unsure about how to move, what to safely do and how much to do.

Are you among them?

Or maybe you have an ‘acute’ (i.e. recent) injury that’s put you out of action for a bit.

In both cases, rest assured that the more you can keep your body moving, the better your long term outcomes will be!

You just need to some guidance as to what type of activity and how much will be best for you.

Last week I shared the first part in my series that outlines 4 Rules to bear in mind for Exercising when you’re Stiff, Sore or Injured.

And this week I’ll share Rule no 2…

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4 Rules for Exercising when you’re stiff, sore or injured: Rule No 1

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It’s always so hard to tell people that they can’t do a particular activity because of their pain, problem or injury…

 

And most of us health professionals, who understand the huge benefits to staying active and mobile are very hesitant to say ‘stop’ exercising altogether!

 

Keeping active is of great benefit to your body’s healing systems– in reducing inflammation, reducing your pain perception, reducing your risk of your symptoms or the injury becoming chronic (i.e. long term) and maintaining your cardiovascular health.

 

In most cases, there’s usually a safe way of modifying what you can do, so you can stay as active as possible!

 

You just need to keep in mind some boundaries I give my patients so they can exercise with confidence that they’re doing more good than harm.

 

These parameters help you monitor how any exercise is affecting the injured area, the other parts of your body and your body’s response and reaction systems.

 

In this post I’m going to share the first thing to consider when exercising while you’ve got soreness, even pain, stiffness or an injury.

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Sore Back At Work? Try These Simple Steps

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It’s National ‘Safe work month’ this October, so create some healthier work habits that your back will thank you for with some ‘physio approved’ advice.

On any given day in Australia, one quarter of our population is suffering some degree of back pain, and nearly 80 per cent of adults in Australia will experience back pain at some time during their lives.

Are you among them?

Research by the University of Sydney found that one third of all work related disability, world-wide, was from low back pain linked to workplace factors.

So I’ve teamed up with the Workscore’s Wellhub team to bring you some simple steps to combat back pain while you work!

If you sit at a desk a lot, you really must move often. Moving for 2 minutes every half hour is the gold standard. But that doesn’t mean you have to get up from your desk!

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