Sometimes it feels like spring time will never get here in Alaska. I am always thankful for when I see the rhubarb start to peek out from the frost. I know the bleeding hearts are not far behind. Soon I will be sporting dirt under my fingernails, and my annual war with chick weed and dandelions will be officially on.

This time of year I see a lot of injuries in the clinic, mostly “thrown out” backs, and muscle strains. People get out and start work in their gardens, or start playing their sport of choice. Even people who have been skiing or snowboarding regularly have a month or two of relative rest during break-up to get deconditioned. You can save yourself a trip to the doctor, and early season strains and sprains if you take some precautions.

Most of us do too much our first time out. The best advice is to ease yourself slowly back into the activity.  If you have an organized practice you are going to, try and get out a week, to 3 days before
the first practice, and do about half as much as you expect to do in your first practice. You will still be sore the next day, but much less likely to be injured at the first practice, and not as sore as you would have been without it.

Try not to let the soreness discourage you from going out and doing it again though. That soreness is part of the process of your muscles building themselves stronger. That increased strength will also help stabilize your joints and protect them through the season. Let your sore muscles rest for about 24 hours. Then stretch a lot the 2 days after you did the work, and get back on the proverbial horse to work out the stiffness within 36 to 48 hours.

Before you start your activity, be sure to warm up. Give yourself a good five minutes to get your heart rate up, and move slowly through the range of motion of the movements you expect to participate in. That is the best way to prevent injury.

Stretching can be important too, but stretching is not the secret to preventing injury that we were trained to believe it was back in the 70's and 80's. Stretching prior to work outs has been found to actually increase injuries.  Unfortunately many of us have been trained to stretch in the wrong way, at the wrong time, and to extremes.

If you want to stretch, it is best to stretch after you have exercised, when your muscles are warm and used to movement. Once you are warmed up, and active, your connective tissue is much happier in obliging in stretching. Really good research has shown that stretches done that are pain free, for prolonged periods of time, have the best results in increasing length of tissues. That would mean a minimum of 30 seconds, and to be honest, we have not yet found a maximum. Clinically we are stretching people who really need it, up to 20 minutes at a time.

Stretching in extreme ranges and with pain actually puts our muscles on guard. Our body reacts by engaging neural and mechanical feedback loops that fight back against the stretch. It is like arm wrestling with yourself; pushing and pulling at the same time.

Another mistake we make with stretching is bouncing. We saw Jane Fonda bending over and bouncing as her stretch. We thought this was the norm, and emulated it. Now, just the memory of that iconic bouncing makes me cringe. Rapid stretching can tear the muscles, which leads to inflammation and scar tissue deposition. This of course leads back to stiffness. Bouncing can also lead to injury of your nerves. Nerves do not stretch, and do not like tension, so be very wary of any tingling or sharp sensations when you stretch.

This spring, please don’t join the army of walking wounded. Start slow, and warm up. Maybe take a quick walk before you start gardening.  Stretch after you are warmed up; or even better, after your exercise. Our summers are too short to spend nursing injuries.

See you out there!