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Pain in the neck?
By Jaime Calder
Many forms of exercise, including swimming, can help relieve joint pain by strengthening muscles and increasing blood
flow to joints, thereby relieving stiffness and pain.
You think you’ve got stress? You should and work with a professional. While you yoga enhances body awareness. This
talk to your joints. Connecting your may not go from Tin Man to Thin Man refined sense of the physical self allows
bones, supporting your weight and overnight, with a little planning, your you to notice when things aren’t quite
moving you through life, they allow your workout can provide you with increased feeling right well before a serious
body to take on everyday actions. You have mobility, improve your energy and mood, problem arises, and offers a better
over 200 joints in your body, and when one and reduced pain over the long-term. Not sense of balance, reducing the risk of
of them is aching, you know. sure where to start? Here are a few joint- falls or other injuries.
friendly ideas to get you started! With practice, commitment and the proper
Joint pain – medically referred to guidance, exercise can make a dramatic
as arthralgia - can be triggered by a • Walking: Easy on joint pain and difference in your overall joint health.
number of different factors, including great for those who enjoy exercising Changes in the body are a normal part
trauma, bursitis, strains, sprains and with friends, walking is particularly of the aging process, but pain doesn’t have
even osteoporosis. As we age, the tissues effective on pain caused by rheumatoid to be. Stop by a fitness center and see how
holding our joints together changes: arthritis. Walking can boost heart and these activities can improve your health
cartilage, which absorbs shocks caused brain health as well. today!
by jumping or falling, becomes thinner Wondering what classes might help you
and less rubbery; less synovial fluid is • Swimming: Water’s buoyancy makes in your quest for pain-free joints? Check
available for lubricating your movements, swimming a low- to no-impact exercise, out these January fitness offerings:
and the collagen which previously granted which takes weight and pressure off
your skeleton flexibility grows less flexible the body and allows for a greater range Beginner Lap Swim Series
and more brittle over time. of motion. The natural resistance of Tuesdays and Thursdays,
water ensures a strong cardiovascular 3:15 – 4 p.m. • CC
Often attributed to “normal wear and workout while the temperature of the Walk with a Spring in your
tear,” one could easily assume that exercise pool can soothe pains. Step Series
is the worst thing for aching joints. In our Mondays, 7-8 p.m. • CC
astonishingly complex bodies, however, • Strength Training: It might seem Feldenkrais Solutions for
such logic does not always prevail – your intimidating, especially if you’re Effortless Posture Series
muscles, for example, do not “wear out” already feeling sore, but stronger Tuesdays, 7-8 p.m. • CC
with use, but instead become stronger muscles help to taking pressure off Pilates for Men Series –
over time. Inactivity reduces the amount your joints. Working out with weights Introduction
of blood flowing to joints, causing stiffness offers a lot of options, ranging from Thursdays, 3:30-4:30 p.m. • CC
and pain, and further restrict your range free weights to machines to resistance
of motion. bands, helping to prevent boredom or JANUARY 2016 SUNRAYS | 31
burnout.
Like muscles, your joints will benefit far
more from regular use than they will • Yoga: In addition to improving
from inactivity. The key is to take it slow flexibility, strengthening connective
tissue and extending range of motion,
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