Spring into Action: How to Prepare Your Joints for Increased Activity

Physical activity is essential for long-term overall health, and your level of activity changes over the course of the year. According to 2023 research from a maker of health monitoring devices, Withings, we tend to be most active in spring and summer, while fall sees the least activity, followed by winter.

If you’re looking forward to getting out into the sun during the warmer months, you want to make sure you’re not overdoing it and running the risk of injury. To properly prepare your body for intense exercise and sporting activity, let’s go over the importance of warming up, the injuries you can get from not doing so, and which exercises help the most.

Dr. Joseph Daniels, along with the team at Southwest Orthopedic Associates, is here to assist Fort Worth, Texas, residents in staying healthy by providing ways to protect their musculoskeletal health through a range of services and helpful tips.

The importance of warming up 

Whether you’re starting a new workout routine, jumping into an intense sport, or just running or walking, the experience affects your whole body. Without preparing your body for it, you risk damage to your muscles, joints, and bones, as well as to your breathing and heart health.

To engage in actions like sudden stops and jumps safely, your joints should be as warm and flexible as possible for optimal performance. Intense activity also raises your temperature and blood pressure, and your cardiovascular system needs time to adjust gradually to avoid problems such as insufficient oxygen and strain on your heart muscles.

Injuries that happen when you don’t

Not giving yourself the proper warm-up time directly affects your overall performance and increases the amount of soreness you endure, but it also raises the risk of problems like:

• Strains and sprains: pulling or tearing in your muscles and ligaments

• Dislocations: the result of a bone getting forced out of its normal position in a joint

• Bursitis: swelling of the small sac-like bursae that cushion your joints

• Tendinitis: often happens due to repetitive injuries to your tendons

• Fractures: cracks or breaks in the bone from falls, twisting a joint, or hard collisions

• Contusions: bleeding under the skin, which can be superficial or affect muscles or bones

• Concussions: falling while exercising or impact from collisions in sports can cause your brain to bounce inside your skull

Common areas where injuries happen include your head, shoulders, elbows, leg muscles,  knees, and ankles. With these issues, you’re likely to struggle with pain, reduced mobility, bruising, swelling, and have problems putting weight on joints.

Common warm-up exercises 

Let’s look at some warm -up routines that can help avoid injuries:

Cardio workouts

To gradually raise your temperature and heart rate, use the treadmill, march in place, or cycle to get the motor running.

Stretching

Several dynamic and static stretches can help increase the range of motion and improve flexibility, including things like:

• Neck rotations
• Shoulder rolls
• Arm circles
• Leg swings
• Lunges
• Squats
• Toe touches
• Side reaches

To get the most out of your exercise and athletic activities, be sure to add a warm-up to your routine. Make an appointment with Dr. Daniels and the Southwest Orthopedic Associates team today to find the best regimen for your needs.