The party years!
If the app what3words were to give a possible location for this age range it might be: Fun.Freedom.Exploring . Usually exciting times!
The world is your oyster, and this first life junction might take you from school to higher education, work, apprenticeship, travel, parenthood…well this list is indeed endless. There is potentially so much opportunity, but also a lot of physical change.
Social scene might be buzzing
We appreciate that it might be early days in any career you start to focus on, and hopefully you have some views on which way you want to go and how you will make your fortune…or be comfortable at least. Sure, your social scene might be buzzing and that all needs to be paid for, however taking a bit of time and effort to maintain your health and mobility at this younger age is vital. Sport that was enjoyed at school may take a back seat due to the demands of work and study; however, keeping fit and agile really can count.
Weave into your new daily routine
But in these transitional years, usually with changed environments such as work or university, what can you do?
Things that you can think about and weave into your new daily routine could be:
Don’t lose sight of any sport or regular exercise regime that you maintained before. Keep your routine going to maintain activity levels and personal fitness. Know your limits, though - any increase in activity should be done gradually. It is important to increase fitness prior to commencing a new sport or other activity.
Staying in contact with friends and family is going to be important; however, where possible, avoid spending long periods of time on your mobile phone.
Maintaining good posture is important. Life might have become a lot more stressful, and any slouching is to be avoided. Avoid sitting for prolonged periods of time at your desk. Every 20 minutes get up and move.
It is not uncommon for people to try and push through the pain. As we get older, our body is less able to compensate, therefore pain left untreated for a reasonable length of time can lead to long term degeneration. If you develop musculoskeletal aches and pains, then seek professional advice promptly to tackle issues early and ensure that you can stay fit and mobile.
Avoid repeated heavy lifting, whether this is part of your job, as part of moving house, or as an offer of help to friends or family. If you are required to do lots of lifting, it is essential you adopt a proper lifting technique. Hold any object close to the body, bend at the knees and keep your back as upright as possible.
Make sure you warm up your muscles before you take part in exercise. This may be a fast walk before starting your lunchbreak run, or some sport-specific exercises to improve flexibility and agility before running onto the football pitch, for example.
Try and keep within a healthy weight range. The heavier you are, the more load is put through your joints. This load further increases when you transition from walking to running. If you need help with your diet, Fiona Hayers is available for consultation: www.nourishfromwithin.co.uk
Contact Life Made Simple Physiotherapy
We hope the second in this series of age-related blogs is helpful as we progress through the balance of 2021 and beyond. We hope you will see that thinking about your physiotherapy care is important and chatting through what you anticipate and expect is part of that process. Please do contact Life Made Simple Physiotherapy by email at Physio@lifemadesimple.co.uk or by telephone on 07309 272 555 for your individual physiotherapy needs and care.
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