How to Protect Your Muscles This Winter

We can all agree this winter has been very mild so far. December is not as cold as it should be. Inevitably, Cold temperatures will arrive soon, so we all have a little extra time to prepare for them. While most people often take necessary steps to avoid any risk of a slip and fall, The vast majority does not think about how the cold weather is affecting their muscles and tendons. Cold weather tends to bring more aches, pains, and muscle tightness that could lead to injuries.

How Cold Affects Your Body

Have you ever stopped to think how cold weather affects your body? Well, let’s just say it undergoes several changes. First, muscles become stiffer and elasticity decreases, nerve speed slows, blood moves away from the skin’s surface, ability to balance may vary, and you may find moving differently when reacting to freezing temperatures. Those with arthritic conditions often find cold weather aggravating. For some people, below 0 temperatures may limit daily activities because of extra aches and pains.

How to Protect Your Muscles in Cold Temperatures?

Here are a series of recommendations of how totake care of yourself during winter.

Active lifestyle

Follow this basic rule: the more you move your muscles and joints the less stiff you will feel. Maintaining a active lifestyle will result in better motion during winter time. Your muscles will get enough nutrients and oxygen to combat cold temperatures, hence reducinge your risk of injury.

Layer up!

We have all heard about wearing layers during winter. Make sure you have enough clothing on you to minimize exposed areas. That way you can reduce the amount of body heat that can escape. Moreover, Layers act as a thermostat. It allows you to to remove or add clothing depending on weather condition. Lastly, Layering must be done with proper fabrics as this will prevent frost bites from arctic wind.

Winter Shoes

There are three main features to look for in a winter shoe: First you want to have proper traction. Traction will protect you from slippery surfaces. Second, the shoes need to be waterproof. Cold temperatures, wind, and wet surfaces are not your feet’s best buddies. Lastly, they need a good tread on the bottom to prevent heat loss.

Do not stay out in the cold for too long

Move indoors as much as you can, take breaks if possible. If you need to stay outdoors, give your body enough time to warm up before heading back outside.

Warm up

Before going out in the cold, whether to exercise or not, take time to perform a gentle warm up to get things moving. This applies to any activity including a winter run or shoveling the driveway. A warm up before performing any physical activity is extra important during winter.

How Can PhysioChiroWellness Help?

At PhysioChiroWellness Integrated Health Centre our highly-skilled practitioners work together to create fully integrated health solutions that may include physiotherapy, chiropractic, massage therapy, acupuncture, naturopathy, medical aesthetics amongst others. Our professionals will work together towards achieving an optimal health for all our patients through a holistically approach when treating any condition or pain they may present. This service is provided in our Mississauga, Newmarket, & Vaughan clinics and can be booked at any time.

Social Media

Directories

How to Protect Your Muscles This Winter