Some of you maybe wondering what massage therapists and other personal service techs are seeing now that many people are seeing an end to Covid and a slow start back to a “more normal” routine. So let’s take some of this apart we have to think about what the last 10 months have been like for a lot of people. Many people have been out of work or working from home (and depending on where you like you can’t go outside much) and so many peoples physical activity level have dropped off a great deal. This has several general effects such as weight gain, muscle wasting, and reduced range of motion. These effects take time to happen but most people don’t realize how fast the effects start. Based on age and a few other factors this wasting and weight gain came begin in as little as two weeks. The recovery back from inactivity depends on a lot of factors more importantly the level commitment to rebuilding what you have lost.
We are seeing a lot of low back and shoulder down the arms pain or tightness. This has been happening because of something commonly called antoir shoulder rotation. As a result pecs, neck, and deltoids become smaller and don’t like fast jaring movement (like found in tennis or golf). My advice: take things very slow this year. Stretch slowly and do sports drills slowly and for limited peroids of time. If you normally do 30 mins of warm up drills three times a week try starting at 10 mins three times a week for a month just to get your body used to activly again without injury. And that is a lot of reason why I am writing this out to prevent injuries. Go three times as slow back into your old activity routine than you think. Injuries right now will cost you time this summer and maybe if the world opens up even more you might miss out time with people that you have not seen in long time.
Be safe. Take Care of Each Other
Tony Schwartz LMT, MAT, CES
Owner of Tony Schwartz Bodywork LLC