“The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today”
I saw this quote on someone’s shopping bag, the other day and it got me thinking…..
Life is busy. Often you are just focussed on getting through the next few weeks or months and the endless “to do list”. If you are planning for the future it’s usually things like pensions, investments, saving for that dream house, the next holiday, or ticking things off your bucket list.
But how much time do you spend investing in your physical and mental wellbeing? After all that is the major factor (possibly most important one) that is going to enable to you to enjoy all those other plans you’ve made.
How are you preparing your health today for tomorrow?
As Osteopaths we help people to feel better and enjoy their lives free from pain.
We often advise people of exercise or activities they can be doing to help with their immediate pain but also focusing on prevention future issues. They leave us not just pain free but hopefully, healthier and better informed about how to look after their body.
But it’s not just about waiting to be in pain. Pain is our body’s last resort, it’s trying to tell us, it’s not happy about something we are doing and it can cope with it anymore. Wouldn’t it make more sense to look after your body so it didn’t get to that point? After all you only get one and it has to last you a lifetime.
The Impact of Aches and Pains on your Health
Each year, physical aches and pains are the leading cause of absence from work, after the common cold. Almost 30% of the population suffers with some sort of joint, muscle or spine pain.
It doesn’t have to be this way, there are lots of practical things you can do to prevent it or deal with it if you are already struggling.
Keeping active is a big factor. Walking, dancing, cycling, weight training are all great for maintaining a healthy body. But many people say – “I don’t have time”, “work is busy at the moment and I can’t fit it in” or I’m busy running around taking their kids to various clubs and groups that there isn’t time for me”.
We are here to show you lots of tips and trick to stay active throughout the day (even if you have a desk job)
Top Tips:
• If you get public transport why not get off a stop earlier. Or if you drive then park further away in the car park, so that you get some extra exercise.
• About 4 million Smartwatches and fitness bands have been sold in the UK. As well as measuring steps they can also be programed to remind you to get up and move about. There are numerous Apps (like Move) that again can be programmed to remind you to get up and move around.
• Live chat: Instead of emailing or picking up the phone go and pay Steve in accounting a visit. Steve might just appreciate the company.
• Walk and talk – have one to one meetings on the hoof instead of sitting in a stuffy board room. Exercise can improve brain function and you may have a more productive meeting.
• Take the stairs instead of the lift. See how the other half live, use the toilet on a different floor!
• Stand up – stretch. If your colleagues laugh at you, make them join in to – you’ll be doing them a favour.
• Take a walking break: Schedule 10–15 minutes a day. See how many steps you can get on your fitness tracker. Recruit someone to go with you and hold each other accountable.
Start by picking two or three of these tips or choose a different couple each week. It’ll all help to get you moving a bit more.
It’s no replacement but for regular exercise or activity but it’s a step, quite literally, in the right direction.
Being free from pain, mobile and flexible are just some of the benefits of being more active. But your health in general is tied in with the health of your bones, joints and spines.
Living Longer and Living Well
Switching just 30 mins a day of sitting for low intensity activity reduces the chance of early death (strokes, heart disease) by 17%. In short you need to be moving regularly in short burst during the day and replacing the time you spend sitting with being more active. So, get of your bum, for a longer life (might get that on a bumper sticker! Or stick a post it note on your computer screen to remind you)
Mental Health and Physical Health
When people experience chronic pain, including back pain, it can lead to anxiety and depression. Depression is four times more common in people with physical, chronic pain.
This in turn makes it harder to become motivated or have the mobility to get active again, which in turn makes it worse.
Seeking help for your physical pain can have positive benefits for your mental health as well.
Your social life also suffers when you are in pain or uncomfortable.
Pain or feeling stiff and less mobile can prevent you from enjoying family actives; social occasions such as parties or trips away and can even impact on your ability to concentrate at work.
You shouldn’t have to accept that and restrict your life. Help to ease your aches and pains can make a big difference.
Looking after your body
What to do next:
Activities found to be most helpful for keeping healthy muscles, bones and joints are:
• Ball games (football, netball)
• Racket Sports (tennis or badminton)
• Dance (anything you like – even dancing around the kitchen counts!)
• Nordic Walking (similar action gained on cross trainer too, although not same level of weight baring and without the benefits of being out in the fresh air)
• Resistance Training (weights or body weights exercise, which can be done anywhere)
Benefits of Osteopathy
As Osteopaths we use soft tissue massage, joint mobilisation, stretches and joint manipulations to ease pain and improve mobility. Part of what we love doing is asking patient’s “what are your goals?” This gives us real insight into what is really important in your life and what makes you feel happy and motivated.
It’s never just about pain; it’s about being able to get back to playing five a side football (which was great for the après match socialising too), getting a more comfortable night’s sleep and having more energy to face the day, running about at the park with the kids or not needing to take painkillers for that headache that you’ve just leant to “put up with”. Or they could be bigger; being able to continue with you training programme at the gym, getting into running and aiming for that half marathon.
Whatever you goals big or small – we can help.
Don’t wait until you have pain; book in for a “M.O.T. “ to see how your body is coping with the impact of sitting at a desk, long hours commuting in the car and the stress of a busy life.
We can help guide you about what you need to be doing to improve the health of your body, investing in it for the future and to keep you doing what you love.
If you already have pain, let us take a look at how your whole body is functioning and get to the root cause of your issue. We can then tackle how to get rid of your pain and look at ways we can prevent it from coming back again.
You don’t need to miss out on life anymore.
It’s as easy as 1,2,3
- Book an appointment online or by calling 0161 4781877
- We will get to the root of your pain, explain it all to you and how we can help. Start treatment
- Feel Better
“The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today” – What will you do today that your future self will thank you for?
Other useful articles / links
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jan/14/sit-less-and-move-more-to-reduce-risk-of-early-death-study-says
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/musculoskeletal-health-applying-all-our-health
https://cheadleosteopathy.co.uk/backpain/sit-stand-desks/
https://cheadleosteopathy.co.uk/uncategorized/mindfulness-tips-getting-started/
https://cheadleosteopathy.co.uk/backpain/modern-life-rubbish-cause-back-pain/
