Jun
26
Written by:
Dr. Cherniawski
6/26/2009 7:18 AM
- Warm up and cool down before and after an exercise routine or sports event. Taking a five to 10 minute walk is perhaps the best way to prepare the body for more intense physical activity and to relax the body following activity.
- Gently stretch the major muscle groups of the legs, arms, neck, and back after the proper warm up and/or cool down. Stretching while muscles are cold or stretching using too much force causes muscles to shorten rather than lengthen and can lead to injury.
- Participate in a variety of activities. Doing different activities on different days allows the body to recover following an exercise routine or sports event. For example, while swimming everyday may lead to injury, taking a walk or jog twice a week, participating in a weight lifting class twice a week, and swimming twice a week breaks up the monotony and repetitive nature of doing the same thing every day.
- Be proactive and take the necessary steps to stay physically healthy. Chiropractic philosophy says that if the body is in proper physical alignment, it will function properly. Like a cavity that develops in a tooth, misalignments in the body often go undetected until a chiropractor performs a proper examination. Once physical misalignments are corrected, repetitive motion is less likely to cause problems. Like a cavity, if misalignments are corrected early, injury, pain, and loss of function is less likely.