Thursday, May 16, 2013

The importance of keeping muscles warm

Importance of keeping muscles warm



Being the eternal optimist...good weather is always just around the corner and it is time to prepare our body for all the strains and stresses that will be put on it over the coming months.
In general with the changing seasons,different activities are performed,each placing a different strain on our muscles

Below is a list of suggestions to hopefully make the season a safe and productive one for you Heavy lifting, gardening, spring cleaning raising your arms over your head for long periods of time and playing sports such as tennis or baseball are some of the contributing factors to sore shoulder muscles. If left untreated, sore shoulder muscles may eventually cause a tear in your rotator cuff, shoulder bursitis or tendinitis.
Luckily, heat therapy has been used for many years to treat sore shoulder muscles by increasing blood flow, relaxing the area and decreasing pain.
Degree of difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

* Heat pad or wrap preferably our Warm Buddy wraps

1. Rest your shoulder muscles. It is extremely important to relieve any stress you have put on your shoulders. Sit upright in a chair with your arms on your lap. Try to sleep on your back rather than on your sides to give your shoulders a good night's rest.back pain
2. Use an Ultra shoulder wrap or one of our Body wraps and Sports therapy wraps to wrap around the sore muscle. You could also immerse your entire body into a warm bath or hot tub.
3. Remove the heat therapy from your shoulders after 30 minutes or if you feel any discomfort. You circulation will have increased, bringing blood and oxygen to the sore muscles. You may want to stretch your shoulders slowly and gently immediately after you stop using heat therapy.
4. Use heat therapy on the sore shoulders or affected muscles at least 3 times a day.Shoulder pain
5. Our Ultra shoulder wrap is specifically for your shoulder muscles. If you have frequent sore shoulders, heat pads and wraps may provide everyday benefits.
6. Use heat therapy before you exercise or perform any strenuous activity. Heat will increase your circulation, reducing stiffness. It will also relax your muscles, increasing their elasticity.
The same principles as above apply to any upper and lower back muscle aches and pains.

Before starting any exercise or strenuous activity you need to warm the body up thoroughly.

There are three reasons for this:
1. To reduce the chance of the injury
2. To increase blood flow to the working muscles and boost activity of neuromuscular pathways allowing them to be fully prepared for exercise.
3. To enable your joints to move more freely and prepare them for any stressful impacts. A good warm up can help limit any discomfort or anxiety associated with long exercise sessions. It also enables the energy system to be “revved up” and “activated” to keep up with the pace of energy requirements. This is where our heat wraps come in to play

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