Many cultures around the world have a tradition of cleaning out their house on an annual basis. In higher climes the house had been boarded up against the cold of winter. Ash, soot, and dirt would build up; so on the first day of good weather everyone in the house would take everything outside. One group would shake out the linens while another group would scrub the house from ceiling to floor. Once everything was clean they would take it back in the clean house. Wouldn’t it be great if we could do spring cleaning on our lifestyle to clean out the bad stuff and improve our health? Here are some suggestions from the staff at Utah Valley Pain Management on health spring cleaning that can benefit all of us.
Get out and play! Most of us live our lives in a very small box. We don’t climb trees and hang from the branches, we sit at a computer for hours a day. We do not run around and play tag, we stand at a counter and help our customers. We do the same tasks day in and day out; we are in a movement rut. We need to play and do some movements and activities we normally don’t do to maintain our overall health and well being. We also need to move outside the box in our relationships and social interactions. When we get out and play, we try new things and we are exposed to new people and experiences that enrich our lives. Let’s get out there and have some fun!
Spring clean your diet! Most Americans eat too much processed food at home and at fast food restaurants. A diet rich in processed foods increases inflammation in our joints and arteries leading to increased arthritic pain and heart or peripheral vascular disease. Take a look at your diet and spring clean the things that make you less healthy. Eat a diet higher in unprocessed fruits and grains along with low fat, high quality proteins. Also, watch those portion sizes.
Clean out the medicine cabinet! Medicines, like milk and hot dogs, have expiration dates and should be thrown out when they are old. That 4 year old prescription for antibiotics is cheap, but it may have lost its potency. Old medications not only are less effective, but they also contribute to the evolution of medication resistant super bacteria. Also, have a discussion with your doctor about the medication you are taking to see if you still need to take them. Get rid of prescriptions that are not doing you any good.
Change up your workout! If you are working out, change it up. Olympic and professional athletes have long used the principle of cross training. Cross training has come to mean working out with functional exercises rather than lifting a lot of weights. However, it also means breaking up your workout so you are not doing the same thing all the time. Our bodies get good at what we do over time, and we need to change it up every so often to the body keeps adapting. If you have been doing your workout for more than a few months, you need to spring clean and change up what you are doing.
Do some prehab! Many of us are less active over the winter and then we expect to be able to work in the garden, go camping or waterskiing, and back pack without any problems. The older you get and the more wear and tear you have on your body, the more you need to do some preventative maintenance to get you ready for the things you love. A physical therapist, like the one at Utah Valley Pain Management, can examine you for any problems that need to be addressed and give you a personalized work out to address them. Then you will be able to do more with less discomfort.