If you are starting to exercise due to a period of immobility or injury it is worth thinking about the muscles you are about to target and the types of training you are taking up.
We require flexibility and the ability to rotate (twist) most of all in our trunk and pelvis region. This flexibility allows us to body sway rather than falling if we are unsteady. To be able to twist gives us greater freedom of reach and assists in walking faster. Our flexibility comes from the ability of our joints to move through their full range and the muscles around that joint to be able to lengthen. Both of these factors can be learnt and can improve over time. It is always important when trying to regain flexibility to not look for ‘quick fixes’ as you are more likely to injure rather than improve. The stretches should always be performed smoothly, breathing out as you begin the stretch and keeping a steady breathing rate as you hold the stretch. Bouncing to try to force the range confuses the muscle as it is unsure if you are asking for contraction (muscle tightening) – or elongation (muscle lengthening)
Our scaffolding (postural) muscles that hold us up against gravity all day long have a large number (proportion) of slow twitch muscle fibers in the muscle make up. This allows them to work all day without tiring you out. If however, you have been required to be on prolonged bed rest, these muscles will not have worked for some time. If you try to get up and stay up on your feet all day without gradually improving, these postural muscles will tire and so our ”action” muscles will have to take over. These were never designed to work all day – their job is a more on-off phasic action. If they have to work for a long time these will give you big body aches and pains as the muscles have overworked.
The muscles of your arms and legs need to have both strength and endurance training. Endurance is to allow you to maintain a given activity for a long period of time – either sufficient to complete your chosen sport or just to be able to walk and move around safely all day.
There are exercises to make your muscles work as they get longer and others whilst your muscle gets shorter. These will relate to the activities those particular muscles perform each day. Finally combining all these exercises into the activities you want to return to is a very important part of your rehabilitation programme.
For details of your particular programme ask your physiotherapist.