Build Your Body's Resilience Up For Winter.

As you age, does your body feel more sore in the winter?

If you compare your body to how it felt 10 years ago, is it the same? better? stronger? fitter? worse? stiffer? are there more aches and pains on the list of things you're having to put up with?

Commonly, from our mid-30's onwards there's a gradual increase in problem areas or systems (digestive system, cardiovascular system etc) as we get older. Sure, our body won't last forever, neither can we expect it to be as good as it was in our 20's however I see a lot of people in clinic who have been putting up with body problems that can be easily resolved with my treatments.

Do you think your discomfort could be related to a lifetime's worth of your body compensating for old injuries and poor posture? Yes? Then I can help you. In this blog post I'll talk about how old injuries are compensated for and therefore hidden from our day to day awareness yet slowly building up bigger problems for the future health. Plus a couple of ways to test the 'state' of your body right now.

What condition is your body in?

Do you wake up with joint stiffness or soreness?
How flexible are your hips, knees and ankles?
Can you rest in a squat position like a toddler with your heels on the ground?
How supple are your neck and back and shoulders? Have they stiffened up over the years?
Do you have a history of old injuries including falls, sprains, road incidents, sporting incidents etc?
Do you have a lot of sugar in your diet?
Do you eat enough protein? (Most adults need approximately 1g per kg of body weight per day, more if you're exercising.)
Do you mouth breathe?
Have you previously broken a bone from a fall?

Each of these factors have an impact on the overall condition of our body. When you've made the decision to improve your health and the aches and pains you're going through it can be overwhelming when there's lots of things to make changes to. I recommend taking small easy steps, chose an area of health or life where you know making a change for the better will be easy and track your progress. Making a record of body measurements, weight blood pressure etc has been shown to be the best way to keep us on-track with our goals.

A history of old injuries and/or long periods of time sitting.

During the winter months I'm thinking of what falls you've had. When we take a fall the impact goes through the whole body not just the bit we land on. You'll appreciate this if you've ever had whiplash in your neck from a fall despite not hitting your head.

In this blog I'll talk about the less obvious factors that can reduce your risk of serious or long-term injuries from falls. Two movements that predict our life expectancy and how to start to winter-proof your body.

When the temperature plummets and the snow from previous days compacts into ice, any of us can take a heavy fall. So apart from wearing good grippy shoes or snow grips, using walking  poles what else can you do to reduce the risk of falling and minimise the damage if you do fall?
Work on your body's condition and resilience.

3 Things to Start Improving Your Body Condition & Resilience.

• Mobility - You'll find many videos on mobility by Kelly Starrett on YouTube. If you're currently seeing me for treatment we'll need to discuss which exercises to work on specifically for you.
• Strength - Depending on what level you're starting from, the first step may be to start a daily 10 minute walk, maybe it's finding a great PT or class you can join. I'll talk about minimum effective dose exercise and longevity in a later blog post. 
• Alignment - Get adjusted by me! If your joints and muscles have been getting sore lately it's highly likely my treatment will help you. Once your body is in a more optimum posture you'll naturally feel more stable, stronger and resilient. You are always welcome to get in touch with me to find out if I can help you achieve that.

The 10 Minute Squat Test - Kelly Starrett.

I am now including this squat test into the initial consultation because it shows us so much about where your body is at and what stretches and exercises will be good for you to work on (if you want to!) once you're out of pain.

---

The Sit to Rise Life Expectancy Test

If you feel it is safe to do so, have a go at seeing how you do with this sit to rise test.

Just like Angela says in this video, no matter what score you get out of 10 you can always start to improve the condition of your body if you want to.