The trouble lurking in spring...

Spring carries a lot of excitement – warmer weather lets you get invigorated by fresh air, you finally break loose of your cabin fever & get out more, you really get cracking on working off the cozy winter fluff you put on over the holidays (but it’s been too cold & gross out to feel motivated to stick to the New Years Resolution thing), you’re hitting the gym or the running path extra hard to make up for that lost time, you’re finally getting back to those fitness classes you weren’t able to make it to with the winter hectic-ness & crappy roads, you’re getting out & getting back to your hobbies and doing your awesome amateur athlete thing, you’re freshening up your home with some new or new-to-you furniture or heck even moving homes entirely, you’re starting to travel again…

March sure is exciting!

BUT by April, you’re going to get stuck right back on the couch you spent all winter on.

What the heck??? You were so ready to get OFF that couch! What gives???

YOUR BODY! That’s what gives!

Most of us go from Hibernation to Hyperdrive as quick as St. Louis temperatures shift (that’s reeeeeally quick, if you’re from elsewhere). We’re so excited to break up the monotony of sedentary life & get back to doing all our favorite things again, that we forget to ease into the Doing.

Instead we rush off headlong into it all… and end up doing too much too soon, and our bodies tell us, “Too bad! Park it, buck-o! I was NOT ready for this!”

Your body needs a gradual transition from winter rest to spring recreation. If the change is too abrupt, it will rebel by sidelining you with a whole laundry list of aches & pains. (And no one likes laundry lists.)

Ice & pain-killers & chiropractic care can get you feeling back to normal. BUT if you get yourself fixed then rush right back to overdoing it, you’re going to be right back in pain again, and missing out on the all the fun this time of year has in store for you! And if you REALLY overdo it, you’re going to be wrecking your summer, too!

Stop that cycle NOW!

DO get up & get moving! DO get back to the fun things you love to do in Spring! But ease into it. Start with an intensity a little lower than you were planning on starting with – If you were going to go hiking for 2 hours, start with one. If you were planning to run a mile, start by alternating running & walking. If you’re getting back to your active hobbies like dance or basketball, do your first few practice sessions at 75% of giving it your all –

Give your body some time to adjust to being active again. Then gradually increase your intensity. You’ll be up to running at full throttle in no time, and most importantly – with no downtime from doing too much too soon!

To your healthy, happy Spring,

~Dr. Vicky