Make the most of movement
Do it together!

Exercise… we all know we should do it, but sometimes just the idea is a put-off, isn’t it? It sounds like something you HAVE to do, something you have to enter in your diary, a chore.

But for mind and body both, it’s as essential as essential acids, as vital as vitamins, as feeding as food.

So don’t exercise: plan to get together with friends instead.

In research published last year, medical students who exercised together in a group showed significant improvements “in all three quality of life measures: mental (12.6 percent), physical (24.8 percent) and emotional (26 percent). They also reported a 26.2 percent reduction in perceived stress levels.”

A year earlier, research published in the prestigious Nature found the impact of exercising together was greater among older Japanese people, and suggested that “Social relationships may be one mechanism underlying the health benefits of exercising with others,” because we know that isolation – lack of social connectedness – is bad for health. The scientists also said that doing it as a group might encourage people to keep at it – you know how it is, you don’t want to let the others down by not pitching up.

“Aim to do something that’s both fun and physical with people you like, at least twice a week,” says Dr Ina Diener, deputy president of the South African Society of Physiotherapy. Plan pleasurable outings with friends or family: a bunch of neighbours who all meet to walk around the school sports fields together, family who bring their dogs to the park for a catch-up and walk twice a week, friends who run or cycle together, family making regular dates to teach their children how to play soccer, cricket or how to swim.

Some of the major body-blockers, the obstacles that stand in the way of moving your body for health, are pain, stiffness and discomfort. Physiotherapists are highly qualified medical professionals who know the muscles, joints and nervous system thoroughly; they are first-line practitioners (you don’t need to have a referral to consult one); and they have the knowledge and skill to assess, diagnose and treat a vast range of problems or conditions.

So whether it’s recurring headaches that keep you from moving, an arthritic knee, a stiff and aching shoulder, a weak pelvic floor after birth which makes you worry that you might not be able to last long enough away from a toilet, even if it’s your dog’s arthritic hips that stop you from healthy movement, consult a physiotherapist. They can help find solutions to anything that keeps any body from moving happily and freely!

To find a physio or for more information visit www.saphysio.co.za

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