As quickly as winter came upon us, it has left. We have been blessed with the first hints of warmth and sun. People are emerging from their winter routines and the streets and parks are beginning to fill with sportsmen and women. As I observe this pleasant scene my mind always returns to the same thought, DID YOU STRETCH?

 Stretching is only one part of the regimen we should undertake when we transition from the relatively sedentary existence of winter to the renewed activeness of spring. Our bodies need to adjust gradually or we can become injured. What parts of our bodies? What injuries you say? I am glad you asked.

 All physical activities make use of the musculoskeletal system. This system is made up of the bones, muscles, ligaments and tendons that help us move. Here are some basic definitions:

 Bone: hard structure made primarily of calcium

• Muscle: tissue that by actively contracting and passively expanding make us move
• Tendon: Tissue that connects muscles to bone
• Ligament: Tissue that connects bone to bone

 What is common to these four tissue types is that they respond to use, or disuse. Muscles atrophy or shrivel when not used; bones get soft and brittle under the same conditions. Tendons and ligaments similarly get weak. This weakening process can be unfortunately rapid. If we go from hibernation to marathons our musculoskeletal system may not be able to tolerate the strain and an injury may occur. Some of these injuries are just annoying, but others can be catastrophic. Blogs in the near future will talk about these injuries and their treatment. For now let’s talk briefly about prevention.

 First, always gradually increase your activity level; especially when starting from a period of relative inactivity. Pain is a protective mechanism; it is there to stop us from doing stupid things. In general if something begins to hurt, STOP. You can rest a day and then come back to the same activity and find you can go a little farther before having discomfort again.

 Stretching if done correctly is also important. There is now some disagreement about the need for continual stretching into the active season. However at the beginning of the season slow gradual stretching can help regain motion we may have lost from disuse. When stretching it is best to use gradual rhythmic motions not one massive pull.

Think of the wisdom in fables of old when it comes to renewing physical activity after a period of hibernation – slow and steady wins the race.

Jeffrey Passick, M.D.

Dr. Passick is the Director of Orthopedics at Coney Island Hospital. He can be contacted at 718-616-3440

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 1st, 2010 at 2:08 pm and is filed under Orthopedics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.