The long hot summer has brought a
bumper crop of exercise-related injuries according to the New Zealand
Chiropractors’ Association.
Dr Hayden Thomas, chiropractor and
spokesperson for the New Zealand Chiropractors’ Association explains: ‘The
lovely summer weather has tempted a lot of people outside and some of them are
trying to do more than they should physically, without adequate preparation and
we are seeing the results.’
Last year the Accident Compensation
Corporation paid out almost $9 million for summer-related injuries, with 30,737
people making claims for injuries they sustained doing what Kiwis do best -
enjoying the great outdoors.
Dr Thomas advises New Zealanders to
`Work within your limits and gently extend them. If you do have some joint
stiffness or tissue tension, then make sure you do some stretches to improve
your flexibility and tone before undertaking strenuous activities and beware of
high impact exercise. Deconditioned joints and muscles need extra care to
slowly increase function and strength. Some people can be at the opposite end
of the spectrum where hypermobile joints can be overloaded and cause problems
in the surrounding supportive tissues. People need to listen to their body and
find a happy medium with a mixture of stretching and strengthening, along with
finding the right activity and activity level for their individual condition.
‘Delayed onset muscle soreness, or
DOMS, is a sign that your body has reached its limits for the time being. We do
see people who have gone that bit too far at this time of year, they might have
felt great at the time of activity but their body lets them know they have
overdone it and need some time out to recuperate. The key to enjoying the great
outdoors is to maintain your joint flexibility and enhance your adaptive
capacity – the body’s ability to get fitter and stronger. Seeing a chiropractor
will help keep that ability on track and reduce the risk of injury. An optimum
functioning spine and nervous system is less likely to get injured’
But the NZCA is keen for New
Zealanders to get out and exercise more as the biggest risk for spinal and
overall health problems comes from sedentary lifestyle. Dr Thomas says that
older people especially benefit from exercise in lots of ways. He refers to a
study[1], which was published in the September 2012 issue of the Journal
of Bone and Mineral Research, which showed that astronauts on the International
Space Station benefited from good nutrition and exercise with an increase in
their bone mineral density.
Dr Thomas says:
`This study shows the vital importance of weight-bearing exercise in
maintaining bone density. It’s undeniable that bones grow weaker without it and
this study has been
hailed as the first significant progress in protecting bone through diet and
exercise.’
Dr Thomas points
out that: `People may not realise that chiropractic is a key wellness and
prevention service. Chiropractors don’t just wait for people to break down but
are primarily interested in preventing and correcting the underlying factors
which cause ill health. A chiropractor will be able to check that all your
spinal joints are moving properly to provide enough input to the brain and also
look at other physical, emotional, nutritional and biochemical stressors that
may be impacting on your body’s ability to self regulate and heal. Then working
in conjunction with other members of the healthcare team your chiropractor will
devise a programme that will help to address each of the factors.
For further
information on the New Zealand Chiropractors’ Association visit www.chiropractic.org.nz.
[1]
1 Scott M. Smith, et al. “Benefits for bone from
resistance exercise and nutrition in long-duration spaceflight: Evidence from
biochemistry and densitometry.” Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, 2012; 27
(9): 1896 DOI: 10.1002/jbmr.1647
