A healthy spine is an excellent foundation for a healthy body. In order to accomplish that, you’ve got to take great care of your spine, including stretching and strengthening. To maintain a strong spine, you have to be aware of your body and avoid injuries from overuse. Here are our tips:
OVERUSE INJURY 101
You might think that you have to take part in extreme sports or do high impact exercises to sustain an overuse injury, but that’s just not the case. Overuse injuries can happen from something as simple as typing away on your cell phone or while sitting and working at your desk. When you perform an action over and over again, you put yourself at risk for an overuse injury.
To prevent overuse injuries, we’ve put together a few tips:
Identify the root of the problem – In order to properly treat your injury, we have to discover what the activity is that you’re doing to cause it. With just a few questions, we should be able to quickly get to the bottom of things.
Cross-train – It can be easy to get into a workout routine, but remember to switch up those exercises. Are you all about Cross-Fit? Try heading to a yoga class to increase flexibility and reduce muscle tension.
Keep it balanced – Just like your life as a whole needs balance, so does your body. If your muscles are tight and overworked, take some time and stretch them out. Are they weak? Set a goal to increase and tone your muscles. This sort of balance is key to avoiding overuse injuries.
Rest up – If you think you have to work out every day of the week to get a strong core, that is not necessary. When you create your physical fitness regimen, be sure to include a full day of rest in order for your muscles to recuperate.
Inflammation – Regular chiropractic adjustments are a great way to find relief if you are already dealing with an overuse injury. It’s also important to learn to manage your pain on your own, and we suggest ice and heat therapy.
CHECK IN WITH YOUR US!
Overuse injuries don’t always just show up. In many cases, a number of small, unhealed injuries develop over time. Those traumas may seem insignificant, but they eventually leave you in a weakened state and affect how well you move.
If you would like to learn more about how chiropractic can help prevent and treat overuse injuries, contact us today!
