Five Simple Exercises to Prevent Injury and Pain

Daily life gets busy and everyone is pressed for time. Using simple exercises and stretches that will keep you healthy and take care of your body, but doesn’t take more than a few minutes every day would work best to fit into most people’s routine. Here are five exercises that take less than ten minutes to do every day to prevent injury, back pain, and help strengthen weak muscles.

The back and neck are two of those areas that are sore on most individuals. Most people seek out massage therapy due to neck pain, back pain, or headaches. As the most common area of treatment, the focus of these exercises is to strengthen the back, ease the neck muscles, and prevent back pain through specific stretches.

The pectoral muscles or chest muscles naturally get tight due to poor posture. Whether you spend most of your time in an office or you are a factory worker, people generally work with their arms and hands in front of them causing their chest muscles to stay in a contracted position for long periods of time and to get tight. This can cause strain on the back muscles as they are constantly put in a lengthened position. This is why strengthening the back muscles and stretching the pectoral muscles is so important. Use a doorway to brace your elbow as your arm is at a ninety degree angle. Step through the doorway with the leg closest to the arm you are bracing while maintaining the arm’s position. You should feel a stretch in the front of your chest. Change up the angle of your elbow by raising or lowering your arm to stretch different fibers of the muscle. Hold this stretch for a minimum of thirty seconds before switching to the other arm and repeating the stretch. Do three sets of this stretch daily with each arm. Strengthen the back by using a theraband that you can get online or at a physio centre. Secure the theraband on a table leg at the middle of the band. Seated and with your arms stretched in front of you, bring your arms straight back to your sides and pinch your shoulder blades together at the back. Repeat this motion fifteen to twenty times. Rest and repeat the set of fifteen to twenty two more times.

Neck pain can occur due to a variety of different reasons. Many people hold tension in the neck which can cause pain and headaches. Others have sore necks due to poor posture while at work. Stretch your neck by stabilizing the shoulder through sitting on your right hand; gently guide your head so that your left ear is brought towards your left armpit. Hold this position for up to thirty seconds. Repeat this stretch on your left side. This stretch should be done three times a day to reduce neck pain and headaches.

Low back pain is generally caused due to weak core muscles and tight hip flexors. Stretch your hip flexors by standing in a lunge position with one foot in front of the other. Tip the bottom of your pelvis forward until you feel a stretch in the front of your hip. If you still don’t feel a good stretch, reach your hands to the sky like in the yoga position of warrior one. Hold this position for thirty to forty five seconds and repeat with the other leg. This stretch should be done with both legs, three times each. Strengthen your abdominal muscles to support the low back and prevent future back pain by doing a plank. Plank by putting your forearms on the ground and lifting your body to a table position while you are on your toes. Hold this position for up to a minute if possible. Never hold the position if your back, elbows or shoulders are in pain while doing the exercise. If needed, go to your knees to modify the exercise.

Please consult a massage therapist, physiotherapist, or personal trainer if you are ever confused about an exercise and how to perform it correctly. You should never stretch or exercise to the point of pain; listen to your body. Remember to get regular massage treatments to help work out tight, stubborn muscles. If you haven’t had massage therapy in a while, your muscles will thank you if you book a massage today!

COVID-19 Update

Due to the State of Emergency announced in Waterloo Region this past week and the mandate put forth by PHA and my governing college (CMTO), I will be temporarily keeping my Massage Therapy Clinic closed at this time. As I am unsure as to when it will be safe to reopen, I will be contacting clients on a weekly basis who have an upcoming appointment to cancel their treatments and will be placing them on a rebook list for when this outbreak has passed.