Better to wear out than rust out. Jack LaLanne
By Robert Weil, DPM
Happy 13th Anniversary LER!! So happy to see the new editorial pillar and can’t wait to see the growing body of evidence that supports the idea behind Movement Is Essential.
Humans are made to move – it’s essential, it’s healthy, it’s fun! Restrictions and problems with movement, like pain and discomfort from injuries and certain medical conditions, have always been challenging. This new pillar of editorial coverage joins LER’s other forever goals in striving to educate and inform its readers in all health fields about the importance of movement in our own, our patient’s, and our client’s lives. It’s critical for so many reasons. Whether for overall health, physical activity, sports, joint health, weight management, stress control, or whatever, movement is KEY. So key, in fact, I include Keep Moving as part of “The New Medicine” that I talk about with my multidisciplinary radio guests. Keep Moving goes right along with eating smarter and reducing stress!
Let’s explore some of these key areas in the essential world of movement.
Our overall health relies on our ability to move – to walk, sit, turn, play – and to do it comfortably. Movement also can have an aerobic, peace-of-mind component, breathing and thinking as we move. At its highest levels with all sports, movement can be fast, slow, explosive, graceful, powerful, even artful. At its most basic, it involves everything we all do at whatever level, like writing these words and turning the page.
Any activity that is physical, like sitting down, getting up, using stairs, standing, and walking, requires multi-joint and muscle movement. So does throwing a ball, swinging a golf club and going for a jog. So does all the finger action with our cell phones or brushing our teeth! Some is just more intense and gets your heart rate moving faster – and that’s a very good thing.
Of course, another of LER’s forever goals is to consistently educate its readers in all the ways to facilitate important components like identifying, evaluating, and strengthening all the biomechanics that contribute to healthy movement like range of motion, flexibility, balance, and stability of joints. Starting, stopping, turning with control are other examples. When these actions are lacking, problems can follow. Lack of coordinated movement of all these components leads to trouble like soreness, stiffness, pain, and too often, arthritic concerns. The importance of proper posture and alignment are also key parts of comfortable pain-free movement always stressed by LER.
Sports movement can be electric: running, jumping, throwing, swinging, dancing, skating, all come to mind. So much of sports medicine is about helping patients of all ages do these activities and movements safely and preventing injuries in adults and kids. Overuse and repetitive motion injuries are constant challenges in youth sports as well as in the older ages. Yes, movement is great, but too much, too aggressive, and injury-causing ain’t so great!
Lack of consistent, comfortable, efficient movement causes and contributes to all sorts of unhealthy effects. Muscles can atrophy and weaken due to disuse from pain and discomfort. Joints can become stiff, painful, and arthritic. Movement is essential to keep these at bay.
So encourage your patients of all ages to exercise, to at least keep moving! One of our best strategies for both keeping a healthy weight and reducing stress is movement – it can be as simple as a daily walk. Walking is one of the safest, heart-effective weight-control methods we have and it’s a great way to control and reduce stress. Just be in the right shoes!
Robert A. Weil is a sports podiatrist in private practice in Aurora, Illinois. He hosts The Sports Doctor, a live weekly radio show on bbsradio.com. His book, #HeySportsParents, written with Sharkie Zartman, is available on Amazon.com. Dr. Weil was inducted into the prestigious National Fitness Hall of Fame in April 2019.
