Skip to main content

Preparation for Outdoor Winter Activities Prevents Injury


Preparation for Outdoor Winter Activities Prevents Injury
by The American Chiropractic Association
http://www.masschiro.org/Articles.php?topic=8&story=29

When snow, ice and frigid weather blast into town, watch out, says the American Chiropractic Association (ACA). Winter recreational activities and chores can pose problems for the outdoor enthusiast whose body is not in condition. Winter sports like skating, skiing and sledding can cause painful muscle spasms, strains or tears if you're not in shape. Even shoveling snow the wrong way, clambering awkwardly over snow banks, slipping on sidewalks and wearing the wrong kinds of clothing can all pose the potential for spasms, strains and sprains.

Simply walking outside in the freezing weather without layers of warm clothing can intensify older joint problems and cause a great deal of pain. As muscles and blood vessels contract to conserve the body's heat, the blood supply to extremities is reduced. This lowers the functional capacity of many muscles, particularly among the physically unfit. Preparation for an outdoor winter activity, including conditioning the areas of the body that are most vulnerable, can help avoid injury and costly health care bills.

"Simply put, warming up is essential," says Olympic speedskating gold and silver medalist Derek Parra. "In fact, when pressed for time, it's better to shorten the length of your workout and keep a good warm-up than to skip the warm-up and dive right into the workout. Skipping your warm-up is the best way to get hurt." Parra, who took both the gold and silver medals during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, UT, adds that, "You can complete a good warm-up in 15-20 minutes. And believe me, it will make your workout more pleasant and safe."

Derek Parra and the ACA suggest that you start with some light aerobic activity (jogging, biking, fast walking) for about 7-10 minutes. Then follow these tips to help you fight back the winter weather:

* Skiing - do 10 to 15 squats. Stand with your legs shoulder width apart, knees aligned over your feet. Slowly lower your buttocks as you bend your knees over your feet. Stand up straight again.

* Skating - do several lunges. Take a moderately advanced step with one foot. Let your back knee come down to the floor while keeping your shoulders in position over your hips. Repeat the process with your other foot.

* Sledding/tobogganing - do knee-to-chest stretches to fight compression injuries caused by repetitive bouncing over the snow. Either sitting or lying on your back, pull your knees to your chest and hold for up to 30 seconds.

* Don't forget cool-down stretching for all of these sports - At the bottom of the sledding hill, for instance, before trudging back up, do some more knees-to-chest stretches, or repetitive squatting movements to restore flexibility.


After any of these activities, if you are sore, apply an ice bag to the affected area for 20 minutes, then take it off for a couple of hours. Repeat a couple of times each day over the next day or two.

If you continue to feel soreness, pain or strain after following these tips, it may be time to visit a doctor of chiropractic. "I've always believed in chiropractic care," says Parra. "I've used a lot of other treatments for injuries and pain, but the problem doesn't get fixed until I go to a doctor of chiropractic."

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What’s Bringing on Your Back Pain?

Struggling to find the source of your back pain? Schedule a visit with our practice. Many people with sudden, acute back pain think, “But gosh, I didn’t even do anything!” What many folks don’t know, or understand, is that it’s not always a case of what you did five minutes ago, or what you did yesterday, or even what you did last week that’s causing the current problem; it’s more a case of “the straw that broke the camel’s back,” no pun intended! Discovering the Cause Sometimes it’s chronic stress that wreaks havoc on your nervous system and finally causes your back to “go out” or a “pain in your neck” because of the strain of carrying the weight of all that stress on your back and neck. Let’s use an everyday example to demonstrate. You go to the local eatery and put your purchase on your bank debit card. All of a sudden, bells and whistles go off because you didn’t have enough money in your account to cover that charge. It’s not this charge that “broke the bank,” it’s all t
4 comments
Read more

Why choose chiropractic?

If things aren't moving the way they are supposed to, it will have a negative impact on your ability to function. That's why most people find routine chiropractic care to be very beneficial. Physical or psychological stress, accidents or bad positions can affect the musculoskeletal system. They can cause pain or local deterioration of nerve function, and affect vital organs and respiratory, circulatory and nervous systems.​Chiropractic focuses on correcting the cause of your problem, not just on suppressing your symptoms. Ultimately, the goal of receiving chiropractic adjustment should be to restore the body to its natural state of optimal health.
2 comments
Read more

Does Scoliosis Automatically Mean Surgery?

Does Scoliosis Automatically Mean Surgery? A routine school exam reveals your child has scoliosis. Naturally you're concerned.  Children aged 10-15 are the largest group affected by scoliosis. Scoliosis is a sideways curvature of the spine. About 80% of scoliosis cases are idiopathic. Which means the cause isn't known. Idiopathic scoliosis may have hereditary factors. Scoliosis afflicts around 2 to 3 percent of the population. Children aged 10 to 15 are the largest age group. And it seems girls are more affected than boys. While common in this age and gender group, a growing number of adults have scoliosis. This often stems from trauma to the spine followed by years of neglect. Congenital scoliosis occurs before birth. These deformities are often from partially-formed vertebrae. Or vertebrae that are fused together. Among children, "wait and see" is often the first-line of traditional treatment. If the scoliosis has progressed beyond a 45° – 50°
2 comments
Read more