November for us is all about how we can get you moving more. We are now 1 ½ years into the pandemic which means over 1 ½ years into change. Most of our daily life has had to adapt as a result and our work environment has taken the brunt of this.
During the pandemic there has been a massive increase in the number of people working from home, either for the first time or just more often. With this comes a decrease in daily movement. What was normal in a working day such as getting up out of your chair to talk to colleagues, walking down the road for a lunch break or commuting via walking or cycling, may
not happen anymore. As a result, in clinic we have seen an increase of people suffering with back and neck pain. A lot of this arises simply because of our lack of daily movement. Staying in the same position for prolonged periods of time causes muscles to shorten and joints to get stiff which results in us feeling tight and sore.
Now more than ever we must become mindful of our daily movement and exercise in order to keep moving well, and reduce pain and stiffness. Try the following tips to help you stay active:
Spend 10 minutes in the morning doing some stretches.
Set a timer every hour to get up out of your chair – walk across the room and back again.
Make sure your lunch break involves getting up and about, and ideally going for a short walk.
When out and about take the stairs rather than the escalator.
When choosing a car parking space park further away from the shop door.
Get a step tracker so that you can aim for 12 000 steps a day.
Take up a new sporting hobby this could be Pilates/yoga/tennis etc.
Thanks everyone and stay moving - Bridget