Looking at the weekend weather forecast, its finally, finally, looking like well have Spring-like weather tomorrow. The weather will warm up, you will see neighbors outside more, and you're woken up to the sounds of birds chirping.
With the warm-up also comes all of us typically doing a lot more outside activities. Being outside and doing more is great, but more often than not we all have some "winter rust" (maybe more this year than others) that needs knocked off. Failure to do that can lead to, or at least greatly increase the risk of, injuries and sprain/strains. As a Chiropractor, every year in my Monroeville/Penn Hills office, I see an increase in neck pain, headaches, shoulder pain, and/or low back pain from patients doing too much this time of year.
The simplest solution is to treat all of your outdoor activities, everything you do, as a workout or exercise. At the core, that's what they are anyway. We all should know that before a workout, it's important to stretch a bit to loosen up our muscles and get the blood flowing.
In light of that, before you go outside and walk, put that weed and feed down, play with the dogs, or wash the car; take 5 minutes and stretch a bit. It's a great way to knock that rust off and will lessen the chances of you hurting yourself.
That's the very fundamental basics. Of course, depending on what you plan on doing outside, there are specifics to expand upon. If you have any questions, feel that you've hurt yourself, or simply want to learn more, please don't hesitate to contact me at my Monroeville/Penn Hills Chiropractic office.
--- Dr. Brent Shealer - Pittsburgh, Penn Hills, Monroeville Chiropractor