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Health Tips
After a long Maine winter of reduced activity, you might be tempted to get outside and train as soon as the weather improves. It is very important that you do not jump into the exercise at the same level that you ended last season with. If you changed your routine for the winter, you will need to ease back into shape this spring. Trying to over do it often leads to early season injuries. Injuries that can be prevented by following these conditioning tips.
- Slow and steady. Don't go crazy on the weekend and then do nothing during the week. Exercise 3-4 times per week - alternating days is the best way to avoid getting sore or injured.
- Increase training no more than 10% per week. Increasing training (mileage, time, or amount of weigh lifted) more than the 10% increases the risk of injury.
- Follow a training program. You can research online or seek advice from a doctor of physical therapist to find the right program for you. Having a good program to follow helps with motivation and prevents you from doing too much too soon.
- Train with friends and co-workers. It always helps to workout in a group of peer at the same fitness level as you to keep you motivated and progressing.
- Have fun! Staying fit should be fun - you are not competing, so relax and enjoy!
Spring brings warmer weather and longer days. Even if you will not be participating in a spring sport, it is a good time of year to take the dog for a walk or the kids to the playground.
Walking! Walking is a great low impact exercise for developing and maintaining cardiovascular fitness. It is easy and inexpensive. You can walk year round and in most weather, indoors or outdoors, you can even walk in place. Walking doesn’t require special clothing or equipment so it can be done anytime and most anywhere.
Walking is low impact so risks of injury to bones and joints are minimal. Walking is associated with a
reduced risk of heart attack, increased energy, improved cardiovascular fitness, increased muscle tone, stress reduction, and weight control.
Physical therapists can develop a program to help improve strength, flexibility, and coordination, as well as to correct existing patterns of movement that may be damaging to joints. Here are a few tips to improve physical activity in your daily life.
- Go out for a short walk before breakfast, after dinner or both! Start with 5-10 minutes and work up to 30 minutes.
- Park farther away at the shopping mall and walk the extra distance. Wear your walking shoes to the mall and sneak in an extra lap or two around the mall.
- Brainstorm work projects with co-workers while taking a walk.
- Schedule exercise time on your business/family calendar and treat it as any other appointment.
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Maine winters offer many fun outside activities
involving snow and ice. These are some winter safety tips that hopefully will ensure only fond memories of this winter season. Along with the skating, sledding, and snowman building each winter there are
numerous reports of unhappy events. Slips, trips, and falls happen more often in the winter months. Slips and trips result from unintended or
unexpected change in the contact between the feet and the ground.
To reduce the risk of slipping:
- take your time and pay attention to where you are going
- wear appropriate footwear for the activity or season
- adjust your stride to a pace that is suitable for walking conditions
It is also important to know how to fall. If you start to fall do not stiffen up. Relax and let your legs and/or arms act like a spring. Tremendous amounts of energy is generated in a fall. The force of a fall can be greatly reduced if it is spread over a wide area. When you fall and land flat, the force is spread over all the body parts, this normally results in less injury than a fall that is concentrated on the back of the head, the elbow, hand, or hip bone.
To prevent falls:
- use caution when you notice a change in walking surface
- make sure that you are in a well lit area
- avoid carrying boxes or materials that block your vision
- watch for slippery spots and report them when noticed
If you do happen to take a fall, be careful returning to your feet. Once on stable ground take good observation of yourself to look for bumps or cuts and always consult your doctor if the injury and fall were serious.
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The cold and flu season can begin as early as October and usually ends sometime in April. While there is no way to cure the common cold or flu, there are several things that you and your family can do to prevent them and stay healthy.
- The most important thing to do is to wash your hands! Use warm water, soap, and wash for several minutes for best results.
- Boost your immune system
- Get plenty of rest
- Eating healthy, well-balanced meals.
The following foods are great immune system boosters:
- Garlic - increases resistance to infection and stress
- Vitiamin C - found in citrus fruits and juices
- Zinc - found in meat, chicken, peanuts, and peanut butter and plays an important role in the proper functioning of the immune system
- Exercising regularly (physical activity produces positive effects on the immune system, which means fewer colds)
- Decrease your stress
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