Page 32 - Family Wellness - Spring/Summer 2016

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Nothing undermines your fitness resolve faster than prolonged injuries. But if you don’t get your body back to full strength before you return to your regular rou- tine, you could risk being sidelined indefinitely.
The good news is you can minimize the risk of long- term impact by scaling back from high-impact exer- cise, like running and other activities in which your joints and muscles take a beating, and turn to low-im- pact exercise instead. In the warm-weather months, it’s easy to find low-impact exercises to do outdoors that will pair up staying in shape with doing things
you love. “Low-impact exercises allow you to reap the benefits of staying active from a cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, and even psychological standpoint while sparing aggravation of your affected joints,” says PSSM’s Physical Therapist Jim Tholany.
Here are four low-impact options that protect your body from further injury while still maintaining the fitness you worked so hard to achieve.
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STEADY AS YOU GO
When you start to feel better, the temptation is to throw on your running shoes and hit the pavement. But Dr. Jim Tholany suggests taking it slow and getting advice from a qualified therapist or trainer who can prescribe a program to return to action.
With running specifically, once you’re given the all-clear, If you’re new to run- ning and trying to introduce it into your routine, Tholany recommends starting with a half-mile two to three times per week with additions of a quarter-mile week to week. For more active individuals they can start with a mile adding up to a half-mile week to week.
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Get medically cleared, get screened, and get moving,” Tholany says.