by Julie O'Connor, RMT
It's January and the cold weather is upon us. As it settles in for the next few months let's take note of how our bodies respond.
Cold weather and in particular cold gusts of wind force our bodies into protection mode.
We react by curling up, contracting our muscles and stiffening our bodies. The expression 'wearing our shoulders up to our ears' never tires during this time of year. It's no surprise that with this comes more frequent muscle spasm, trigger points, stiff neck and shoulders, decreased mobility in our muscles and even tension headaches.
When our muscles get chilled they respond by tensing up and shortening. Over time this creates loss in muscle flexibility and what is known as 'Trigger Points'. So our muscles which were once flexible and able to stretch with ease, have now become more rigid and stiff with lack of mobility. A trigger point in it's most simply put description is a 'muscle knot'.
This means muscle fibres get stuck together and adhered creating little knots you can feel in your muscle tissue. Most of these knots actually refer pain to entirely different areas of the body then where they live. It's an odd phenomenon. This is why when we have tension in our shoulders and we press down on our upper trapezius we can actually feel the pain in our temples.
What can you do to avoid this from happening? Well, let's start with PREVENTION. Getting regular, consistent bodywork (such as a massage) every 4-6 weeks will help keep your muscles loose and flexible so that shortening does not occur. More specifically, during the cold winter months lets try these tips to prevent the chilly air from wrecking havoc on our neck and shoulders:
*Always protect your neck from the cold with a scarf.
*Use a heated neck wrap over the winter months. Deep Moist Heat is best and you can purchase bean bag wraps or heating pads are key! Noah's health food stores and Shopper's Drug Mart supply them.
*Stretch your neck and shoulders daily! Even better do so in the shower as Heat allows you to deepen your stretch and acts as a natural muscle relaxant.
* Keep hydrated with water and or herbal teas. Always useful for keeping our bodies and muscles working optimally.
Keep warm. Be kind to your body :)
Cold weather and in particular cold gusts of wind force our bodies into protection mode.
We react by curling up, contracting our muscles and stiffening our bodies. The expression 'wearing our shoulders up to our ears' never tires during this time of year. It's no surprise that with this comes more frequent muscle spasm, trigger points, stiff neck and shoulders, decreased mobility in our muscles and even tension headaches.
When our muscles get chilled they respond by tensing up and shortening. Over time this creates loss in muscle flexibility and what is known as 'Trigger Points'. So our muscles which were once flexible and able to stretch with ease, have now become more rigid and stiff with lack of mobility. A trigger point in it's most simply put description is a 'muscle knot'.
This means muscle fibres get stuck together and adhered creating little knots you can feel in your muscle tissue. Most of these knots actually refer pain to entirely different areas of the body then where they live. It's an odd phenomenon. This is why when we have tension in our shoulders and we press down on our upper trapezius we can actually feel the pain in our temples.
What can you do to avoid this from happening? Well, let's start with PREVENTION. Getting regular, consistent bodywork (such as a massage) every 4-6 weeks will help keep your muscles loose and flexible so that shortening does not occur. More specifically, during the cold winter months lets try these tips to prevent the chilly air from wrecking havoc on our neck and shoulders:
*Always protect your neck from the cold with a scarf.
*Use a heated neck wrap over the winter months. Deep Moist Heat is best and you can purchase bean bag wraps or heating pads are key! Noah's health food stores and Shopper's Drug Mart supply them.
*Stretch your neck and shoulders daily! Even better do so in the shower as Heat allows you to deepen your stretch and acts as a natural muscle relaxant.
* Keep hydrated with water and or herbal teas. Always useful for keeping our bodies and muscles working optimally.
Keep warm. Be kind to your body :)
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