With Christmas just over a week away, we wanted to share 5 of our best tips with you to keep you & your family healthy & injury free this festive season.
Every year, we see a spike in certain injuries just after Christmas. There are a number of things for you to be aware of, to make sure these don’t happen to you.
So, here are our top tips to consider this holiday period.
1. DON’T GET SLACK WITH YOUR INJURY MANAGEMENT ROUTINE.
If you have a regular routine of exercises, stretches, icing, etc to manage a particular condition, make sure you continue with this over the holiday period. Every January we see an increase in people presenting to physiotherapy with injury “flare-ups” due to taking a holiday from their injury management routine.
2. SOME THINGS ARE BEST LEFT TO THE KIDS!
Every year we hear some impressive (& sometimes disastrous) injury stories of adults mucking around with kids toys. So, if you are going to be tempted to play with your child’s new Christmas present, make sure that it can tolerate your weight & perhaps think about the last time you did something like that (e.g. riding a skateboard for the first time in 20+ years often results in broken arms!).
3. BE SURE TO EXERCISE.
The Christmas period can be a wonderful time of fun, family, food, drink & relaxation. See if you can find some time to get some exercise in. You may even have more time than normal to go for a walk, a bike ride or a swim down at the beach. Exercise is a great way to keep the body moving well.
4. WATCH OUT WHEN YOU DRINK!
Alcohol can be a major factor of many injuries over holiday periods. With alcohol consumption comes impaired judgement, reduced steadiness, in-coordination & reduced inhibitions. This combination is perfect for all manor of injuries. So without trying to sound like the Christmas Grinch, perhaps think about what activities you do and take care if you choose to drink this Christmas.
5. MAKE A RESOLUTION TO LOOK AFTER YOU PHYSICAL HEALTH IN 2018!
If you have been battling with injuries or illness, make a resolution to better manage or continue to manage these as best you can in 2018. If you don’t have any particular health issues requiring attention, may we suggest the following physical health resolution for 2018 – to commit to meeting the Australian Physical Activity Guidelines at a minimum. For adults these are:
- Accumulate 2.5 to 5 hours of moderate intensity physical activity or 1.25 to 2.5 hours of vigorous intensity physical activity, or an equivalent combination of both moderate and vigorous activities, each week; and
- Do muscle strengthening activities on at least 2 days each week.
Have a safe festive period & wishing you a healthy 2018!
