We hope you all had a restful break and feel some renewed energy for the new year..?
If you don't, you are not alone. The uncertainty around COVID, closures and upheaval of travel plans is causing heightened stress and anxiety. We are already seeing clients with the back to work blues and feeling burnt out. So you are not alone. However there is a lot you can do to keep your body and mind functioning more optimally.
Top Tips for re-gaining energy:
1. Routine - re- establish an achievable routine for work and play. Don't over commit to work, socialising or a crazy get fit quick scheme just yet.
2. Sleep - go to bed at the same time every day and try to wake up at the same time.
3. Socialise - make plans to see friends and family who give you energy and help share the burden of current frustrations. Try to keep scrolling/screen time to a minimum. Delete apps you are over using or limit time spent on them. Have a decoy activity like a walk outside or phone a friend.
4. Exercise - Regular exercise in small amounts is better than larger more physically demanding sessions if you aren't used to it. We can help plan a routine so please ask. If in doubt start small and regular - even 3 x week for 30-45 mins and build 10-20% per week.
5. Nutrition and Hydration - Adequate water intake - usually 2-3 litres per day in summer helps fight fatigue. Choosing healthy food options and limiting alcohol as well as regular eating patterns helps solidify routine and function.
Musculoskeletal Pain and Injury:
Spinal stiffness, hip pain and headaches were on the top of the list from too much couch time and WFH in 2020.
Unfortunately for many of us (Physio's included) are still carrying some of these aches and pains or niggling injuries that we didn't have the mental capacity or time to properly deal with last year.
Please make time to get these attended to before heading back to the gym or embarking on any ambitious get-fit programs. A background of stiffness or inadequate loading of tendons and joints can put you at high risk of injury. A more serious injury will put you out of action for gym or sport for a lot longer than a niggle will.
Often just one Physio session can stop a problem from getting worse and give you a plan to get back on track.
Effective Rehab:
We specialise in injury rehabilitation. Some people are great at doing a home program or rehab with their trainer, but for others the discipline is hard. So attending a rehab session - 1:1 up to 1:4 groups which are personalised to progress your rehab needs is a great idea.
Rehab sessions start at $51 and are claimable on private health. (45 min sessions). They are also ideal to get you safely back into strength and conditioning or pilates before you return to larger group classes that aren't as closely supervised.
Our expert network:
This is a super quick list of things to try. Chat to us more if you are concerned about sleep, health or diet. We can help with suggestions or refer you on to a professional in that area.
We have lots of highly skilled professional contacts at our disposal if you are in need of more professional guidance; from General Practitioners, Sports Physician, Sports Dietician, Naturopath, Acupuncturist, Personal Trainers and more. So please ask rather than reaching for Dr Google.
Make your health a priority. If you feel good physically and mentally you can more easily ride the ups and downs. Make Jan - Feb - March your recovery phase. We are back at HQ - 9 Rooney St Richmond an ready to help.
See you soon,
Nicole and Dane
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