3 Ideas to Improving Physical Health in 2024

2024 is here and individuals are always trying to make all types of New Year’s resolutions. Make your physical health a priority throughout 2024 by following these three activities highlighted below.

 

Stretching Routine

Make stretching a priority going into 2024. Performing stretches everyday has many effects to improve physical health. Stretching is beneficial to prevent injury, improve flexibility, and improve posture. Finding 5-6 stretches that you can perform throughout your day focusing on muscles you find tighter than others will give you the most benefit. Be sure to hold the stretches for 30-60 seconds and stop if you experience increased pain as you might do more harm than good. One easy way to make stretching a habit is to perform them once in the morning and before you go to bed.

New Sport or Hobby

Finding a new hobby or sport is a great way to stay active throughout 2024.It is important to find an activity that you are interested in and can keep up with. Whether it is pickleball, swimming, running, walking, hiking or other activities they are all great to improve strength, flexibility, and endurance. Finding friends or family and setting goals are great ways to make it fun and  stay engaged.

Strengthening program

A good strengthening program is another way to stay active going into and throughout 2024. Strengthening has many health benefits like improving muscle and bone health and improving ability to perform daily activities. Body weight exercises and using items like a gallon jug or can of corn are great ways to start a strengthening program without breaking the bank on a gym membership or equipment. Finding a routine of 3-4 days a week with rest days in between will be important to see good benefits. Setting goals to progress weight, sets, and reps with exercises when they are easy will allow you to continue to improve strength over time.

Blood Flow Restriction Therapy (BFRT)

What it is/background:

BFRT was first invented by Dr. Yoshiakia Sato from Japan in 1966. BFRT has become popular with weightlifters, professional sport athletes, and medical professionals over the recent years. BFRT is a strengthening technique that uses a device similar to a blood pressure cuff, which safely restricts blood flow to a muscle. Read more

What is the McKenzie Method

The McKenzie method is a physical therapy treatment classification that was first introduced to the physical therapy world in the 1950’s by Robin McKenzie. Robin McKenzie had a clinic in New Zealand and that is where he first observed the phenomena of centralization, and it was by accident. McKenzie had a patient he was treating with lower back pain that radiated to his left buttock and down his leg. The patient was not responding to conventional treatment and one day the patient happened to lie on a treatment table on his stomach that was elevated on one side. The patient was lying there for 10 minutes waiting for McKenzie to return to the room. Once McKenzie returned to the room the patient noticed his leg and buttock pain was gone. McKenzie realized that extension was the factor that reduced the pain in the patient’s back and that was the start of the McKenzie Method. Read more

Practices to Prevent Burnout

As we all know, these past three years have been more than crazy. Stress is on the rise throughout the world, due to the everlasting pandemic. But how much stress is too much stress? And how should we healthily deal with it?

According to Herbert Freudenburg, burnout describes a severe stress condition that leads to severe physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion. Burnout is more than ordinary fatigue; it makes it challenging for people to cope with stress and more difficult for them to handle day-to-day responsibilities. We have all heard of many people, including medical staff, leaving their career field due to the overwhelming load that they have on their shoulders during this time. Katie Gerten found that from December “a whopping 76% of Americans are experiencing burnout” from the current state of the pandemic. Read more

The Throwers Ten Exercise Program and the Overhead Athlete

The Throwers Ten Exercise Program was originally designed with 10 exercises to target strengthening for injury prevention in baseball pitchers, however has evolved as a more robust program that is beneficial to other overhead athletes. The exercises included in this program were specifically chosen as they are able to be completed outside of a gym. There is minimal exercise equipment needed and therefore allows the athlete more freedom to complete this strengthening program at home or as part of a warm-up. This exercise program would be an excellent place to start strengthening muscle groups in the shoulder in order to prevent injuries when competing in overhead sports.

Goal: To improve the strength, power, and endurance of the shoulder complex needed for the throwing or overhead athlete Read more

Pelvic Floor Dysfunction

Pelvic Floor Dysfunction can include a variety of diagnoses involving the impairment of the pelvic floor muscles and ligaments. Diagnosis can include urinary incontinence, overactive bladder, bowel incontinence, vulvodynia, pelvic organ prolapse, and many more. Pelvic Floor muscles include multiple muscles that attach to your sacrum and pelvis and support your bladder, uterus, prostate, and rectum. It involves the inability to correctly relax and coordinate the muscles to urinate or to have a bowel movement.
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Shoulder Mobility

Many of us have struggled with how to get a good stretch for our shoulders and how to maintain mobility in our shoulders over time. One method I enjoy using for myself and with my clients is using a simple PVC pipe. This could also be a broomstick, a baseball bat, a golf club, a yardstick, etc. Here are some simple stretches that target the entire shoulder joint capsule.
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The Benefits of Running Versus Walking

There are many people who would argue that walking is a better form of exercise than running or vice versa. In reality, each of these forms of exercise have some benefits that separate it from the other. In this review, we will identify the risks versus rewards of both to help identify what type of program is right for you. Read more

Physical Therapy Can Help with Lingering Symptoms Post COVID

The medical community continues to learn more about COVID-19 and the way it affects the body. While some people are able to recover at home with little difficulty, others need hospital-level care. There is also a subset of patients with symptoms that persist for weeks to months after the initial illness. Read more

Study Shows Regular Exercise Can Reduce Risk of Hospitalization from COVID-19

Have you ever heard the phrase “the best defense is a good offense?” While it may seem to just apply to sports, it turns out that this concept applies to humans as well!

Most people know that exercise can prevent injuries to your muscles, joints, and bones, but recent research has proven that exercising regularly can also reduce your risk of hospitalization in the case of COVID-19 infection. Read more