Summer Activity Stretches
Summer is here and summer activities are well under way! Changing up activity level or even activity type can lead to some tight, stiff and sore muscles. Read below for some suggestions on stretches for all of your favourite summer activities!
Kayaking and canoeing are favourites for many, whether it’s spending time at the cottage or paddling around the Toronto islands. Before hitting the water, I always suggest patents warm up their shoulders. One of my favourite warm ups is Resisted Up & Overs. Take a resistance band between your hands, wider than shoulder width (a little wider if you’ve had some shoulder issues in the past). Lift your arms up above your head, then reach behind so the band goes behind your head. While doing this you want to maintain a level of tension between your hands the entire time to bring a little more muscle activation and control into your movement. Repeat this ten times before kayaking, and your shoulders will thank you the next day!
Water skiing is another popular lake activity. When we water ski, we maintain a slight bend in our hips and knees. A lot of our stability comes from our glutes, particularly gluteus medius. For most muscles, their shape isn’t of too much importance, but gluteus medius is fan shaped. For fan shaped muscles, we must add movement to our stretch or we are only stretching one part! To stretch your entire gluteus medius, start seated, feet planted on the floor, knees bent. Cross one ankle over the other and then slowly drop your foot to the floor. Try to keep your pelvis still the entire time. Think of the movement as scanning the muscle for tight areas. If you come across a particularly tight portion, pause, take a few deep breaths, and then continue on. This is a great stretch for anyone with tight hips, even those who don’t water ski!
One thing I hear frequently in my clinic is patients telling me how they’ve increased their walking frequency and duration. When we walk, we rely on the stretch and release of passive connective tissue in the bottom of our foot (it helps the muscles propel us forward and it absorbs shock). This tissue is called our plantar fascia and it can get tight and painful if we increase our walks too quickly. This fascia continues up the back of the entire leg, so to stretch it, I recommend trying the yoga pose Downward Facing Dog. Start on your hands and knees, hands under your shoulders and knees under your hips. From there, press into the floor with your hands and straighten your knees. Hold this stretch for five slow yoga breaths and you will feel a nice release through your entire fascial chain!
My next stretch is for bikers. I love taking my bike out to the end of the Leslie Spit, but sometimes I find my quads (front of thigh) get tight. I see a lot of cyclists stretching one quad at a time while standing. There is nothing wrong with this stretch, but I love stretching both at the same time so I know if one is tight than the other and needs a bit more TLC. Start by kneeling with your toes curled under you. Sit into your heels, and slowly reach your hands back, walking them bit by bit. Hold here for five slow yoga breaths and then walk back up. If you love cycling but hate the post cycling quad pain then try this stretch!
Finally, my last summer activity (inspired by the National Bank Open) is tennis. Tennis elbow presents as pain on the inside of the elbow. To stretch out those tight forearm flexors that attach here, once again we are going to start on our knees. Reach both arms forward, palms up, fingers forward. Slowly extend your wrists, so that your fingers point down. From there, lean forward until your hands are on the ground and fingers pointing towards yourself. Slowly lean back until you feel a nice stretch in your forearm. Hold for five slow yoga breaths, and you will be ready for another round of tennis!
Remember, if you are experiencing any of the aches and pains mentioned, please bring them up with your local, friendly Chiropractor so they can properly assess you properly. Soak up the sun and have a safe and active summer!
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