October is one of the most beautiful months of the year. Who doesn’t love the
fall and all the wonderful activities it brings with it- like apple picking, pumpkin carving, hay
rides and long autumn walks. So it is appropriate that October is also designated as National
Chiropractic Health Month (NCHM) by the American Chiropractic Association. And this year in
particular, after an 18 month pandemic, its members and doctors of chiropractic nationwide
will encourage people to “Keep Moving!” and to strive to add more movement into their daily
routines.
Many of us have learned the hard way over the past year that lack of movement and physical
activity can lead not only to weight gain but also achy joints and other musculoskeletal
conditions. When the shutdown first started last March, we were unsure what effect it would
have on our practice. But within a relatively short time- we realized that our patients needed
our services more than ever! People were stuck in their homes, unable to work, or exercise, in
addition to eating poorly and being under more stress. Their posture was suffering from sitting
on the couch all day and sloughing watching endless hours of Netflix. All this added up to a
myriad of health issues such as back pain, neck pain, and headaches. And at the end of the day-
what did we find was the best remedy for all these ailments?? Movement was the answer!
Finding ways to move our bodies more not only enhanced our physical health and stamina but
also our mental health and feelings of well-being. Taking care of our health, staying active and
keeping a positive outlook helped us all to keep moving through those challenging times.
So during NCHM 2021, we want to share some basic information on the benefits of movement,
recommend some physical activity levels, as well as give some injury-prevention tips and advice
on how people can incorporate more movement into their daily lives.
First- let’s talk about six basic areas of our body which can significantly benefit from
movement no matter how small:
MUSCLES: You have more than 600 muscles in your body that contribute to about 40% of your
total body weight. By moving, you are strengthening your muscles, which improve stability,
balance, and coordination. Don’t forget, stretching helps maintain your muscle health as well.
BONES: Movement helps build more durable, denser bones. Bone-building activities like
resistance training (weights), weight-bearing exercises (jogging, walking, hiking), and balance
training (yoga) can support better bone density.
JOINTS: Yoga is all about body awareness, so you’re compelled to pay attention to each
movement. By being aware of how you move, you can increase coordination and balance, be
mindful of the positioning of your joints, and relax. Plus, yoga encourages flexibility and range-
of-motion, which boosts joint flexibility and joint function.
BRAIN: Walking 30-40 minutes a day three times per week can help “regrow” the structures of
the brain linked to cognitive decline in older adults. If you are working from home or tend to sit
more often, make an effort to take walks.
HEART: According to the British Heart Foundation, we can avoid around 10,000 fatal heart
attacks each year if we keep fit, so start moving and try cycling to improve your heart health.
Regular cycling can cut your risk of heart disease by 50%.
LUNGS: Keeping your respiration rate up improves your cardiorespiratory endurance. Circuit
training with a personal trainer or in a group fitness class is a perfect solution to getting your
lungs stronger. But again, you don’t have to perform a high-intensity movement. Instead, try
BODYFLOW or Yoga Sculpt – it still gets your lungs going but at a more comfortable pace.
Now as we increase our physical activity levels, it becomes more essential to limit and prevent
our chances of injuring ourselves. Here are three basic principles that are especially important
when considering the impact of proper joint movement:
1. When lifting an object, be sure that the largest muscles in the area perform the task. The
larger the muscle or muscle group utilized for lifting, the less the stress placed on smaller, more
vulnerable muscles and the joint itself. That’s why you always hear us say for example to lift
with your legs and not your back! Our leg muscles like our quads and gluts are stronger and
more powerful than our low back muscles. So we are less likely to strain ourselves when we
bend and lift with our legs.
2, During any activities, you should be able to comfortably assume several different postures, to
avoid staying in one position for extended periods. Muscles will fatigue and joints are more
likely to be injured when you hold a particular posture, especially a poor one, such as staying
partially bent forward at the waist (…. Brush your teeth often?? Lol)
3. When performing tasks, keep the joints that are being used either in their neutral posture or
approximately halfway into the range of motion. Working with your joints at the extremes of
their ranges of motion for prolonged periods places abnormal stresses on those joints and can
result in repetitive-stress injuries
And now for the hard part, incorporating movement into our daily activities. You see- we all
don’t need to be in the gym three hours a day ( like Dr Gil!) nor do most of us have the time or
energy to train for the New York City Marathon next month!
So if physical activity seems too hard to incorporate into your everyday routine, try some of
these tips and see how easy it is to make a couple of small changes to make your day more
active.
Take the stairs. You’ve probably heard this one before but taking the stairs is a great
way to add movement to your day and increase your heart rate. Also, if you continually
take the stairs you’ll be able to see the results of your body being active when you can
reach the top without being out of breath.
Take a walk. Sitting for extended periods of time has been proven to have negative
effects such as higher risk for heart disease, obesity, cancer, etc. Taking a break every
hour or so to get up and walk around will help prevent some of these negative effects
and get you moving. (Ask is about the “50-10 Rule”)
Wake up and work out. Before getting ready for work do a couple sets of crunches and
push-ups or jumping jacks. It won’t take a lot of time and it will set a positive and
healthy tone for the rest of your day.
Wear a pedometer. It is really easy to track your steps. Even if you don’t have a fitness
tracker, your phone automatically keeps track of how many steps you are taking when
you have it with you. Seeing the number of steps you take get higher and higher
throughout the day is fun and it is always a great feeling to see that you’ve met your
step goal.
Add movement to housework. Focus on posture and the different muscle groups you’re
using while doing chores such as vacuuming or washing the dishes. For added exercise,
listen to music while doing housework- dancing will add some activity to your day and
add some fun to your chores.