How Strength and Conditioning Can Help You Become Healthier and Stronger
Everyone desires to be healthier, stronger, and more active. This may feel difficult to accomplish sometimes due to pain, injuries, or poor diets. Pain increases undesirable chemicals in your body that cause stress, creating a challenge when it comes to exercise. All of this also affects your endocrine system, which regulates your hormones and controls almost everything happening in your body.
Fortunately, strength training exercises can effectively ease your pain while simultaneously strengthening the affected part(s) of your body. Our highly trained New York, NY physical therapists can create a personalized strength training plan for your needs and goals. They have the right knowledge and the time to listen, evaluate, and guide you toward a pain-free, stronger, and healthier lifestyle. Request an appointment with Metro Sports Physical Therapy today to learn more and start a new chapter on a healthier you!
Strength and flexibility
There are approximately 642 skeletal muscles in the body. This means that your strength and flexibility play an important role in your health. Your muscles not only help you move, but they support your circulatory and breathing systems. A stronger and more flexible you means a healthier you. Relieving joint or muscle pain and guiding you on proper strength training exercises are integral parts of our specialized physical therapy treatments.
Strength training helps in building muscle mass, and it is typically the final step in a rehabilitation treatment process. Whether you are recovering from an injury or underlying condition that is causing you pain, resistance training will help you get back to your optimum physical performance.
Stretching is usually recommended to alleviate pain. Stretches are designed to target muscles that cause pain when they are tight and inflexible. Hamstring stretching is almost always an important part of an exercise program. Most people do not stretch these muscles, which extend from the pelvis to the knee in the back of the thigh, in their daily activities.
Another stretch that is often helpful in easing sciatica is the Bird Dog move: After getting on their hands and knees, individuals extend one arm and the opposite leg. The arm and leg extensions are then alternated. A more advanced version of this exercise is the Plank Bird Dog move, in which the extensions are done once the person is in the plank position on their hands and toes.
Low-impact aerobic exercise
Some form of low-impact cardiovascular exercise, such as walking, swimming, or pool therapy is usually a component of recovery, as aerobic activity encourages the exchange of fluids and nutrients to help create a better healing environment. Aerobic conditioning also has the unique benefit of releasing endorphins, the body’s natural pain killers, which helps reduce sciatic pain.
These types of muscle conditioning exercises may be done separately or in combination. If you are in or near Flatiron, Gramercy, Madison Square Park, Gramercy Park, Baruch College, Midtown, East Midtown, Sutton Place, East River, Peter Cooper Village, or Stuy Town, in New York, NY, and suffering from pain and need treatment, contact Metro Sports Physical Therapy to schedule an appointment and return to a pain-free, active lifestyle.
What does it take to be healthier?
Health is a relative term. It means that your body is operating at a high normal range in all the different systems from circulation, breathing, digestion, and more. Anything you can do to help your body achieve more of an ideal state is a step towards a healthier you.
At Metro Sports Physical Therapy, our strength training programs will get you back on track to living a happy and healthy lifestyle. Our physical therapists will design a treatment plan with the best exercises for an effective and speedy recovery.
These exercises will be dependent upon which part(s) of your body are in need of strengthening. This may include body weight exercises (such as squats, push-ups, or planks) or exercises using additional tools (such as barbells, resistance bands, exercise balls, or hand weights).
7 tips for a healthier, stronger, and more active you:
Strength training is an important part of reaching your peak physical potential, but there are other health and wellness techniques to keep in mind while you’re doing so:
1. Limit your sitting.
Get up every 30 minutes and walk around at work and home. Prolonged periods of sitting can cause muscles to stiffen up and become weaker.
2. Get up and move.
Exercise regularly, even if it’s just walking for a short time every day. Moving will help keep your muscles loose and will avoid losing their strength.
3. Nutrition and portion control.
Keep your intake of food nutritious, at a comfortable level. Fueling your body with the correct foods will increase your energy and make it easier to exercise.
4. Drink more water.
Water keeps your body systems functioning at their optimum levels. This will also make exercise (and muscle recovery!) much easier.
5. Breathe.
Work on your deep breathing techniques to increase oxygen intake and get your lymphatic system moving.
6. Get enough sleep.
Sleep at least 8 hours a day. It is best to get into a routine so you go to bed and wake up on a regular cycle. This helps your endocrine system, which controls several aspects of your body.
7. Take care of aches and pains.
Don’t let any long-term problems linger. Get professional help at Metro Sports Physical Therapy by scheduling an appointment today!
Contact us today!
When you engage in a regular program of gentle exercises, you can recover more quickly from pain and are less likely to have future episodes of pain. Muscle conditioning exercises usually focus on three key areas: strengthening, stretching, and aerobic conditioning. Our New York physical therapists are ready to create a plan for you. Contact Metro Sports Physical Therapy today to get your specialized Strenghtening and Conditioning plan.
Your Next Steps…
Request An Appointment
Receive A Custom Treatment Plan
Work Hard and Progress In Your Recovery
Recover & Enjoy Life Pain-Free!