Aches and pains and a spot of exercise during COVID-19

04/04/2020

Since the lockdown, with restricted movement in place, a number of people have expressed concern about getting adequate exercise, among other things to be worried about. If you have a regimen in place and that is disrupted, anxiety may follow. Some people also have to, for medical reasons, get adequate exercise during the day.

We have also been flooded with calls, mainly from people with chronic issues — pain mostly. Since they are probably sitting at home in all kinds of odd postures and watching movies on the net or phone. We have been getting an extraordinary amount of calls from people complaining of backpain, shoulder and neck pain.

The general tips that I would give all these people anxious about getting exercise and those who must exercise, are:

1.Involve your family member (could be spouse, parent, sibling, child) in the exercise effort.

2.Try to use any available space inside the house, around the house or the terrace for exercises. About 30 to 40 minutes of brisk walk daily would be recommended.

3.Try to do some strength training too, using household things that you can lay your hands on, like waterbottles (filled with water), bags, etc. Free weight or body weight exercises such as squats, lunges, planks, etc., are helpful.

4. Do remember to warm up and stretch before the exercises.

5.Try to assign a fixed time to your exercise activity, which will ensure that you will follow your routine and wont skip it.

6. Keep an eye on your diet and temper it to suit your activity levels. Following the same diet that you were on when you were more active during the lockdown will only result in weight gain and misery.

7. Post surgery patients should stick to the physiotherapy schedule prescribed by their surgeon or therapist.

When in doubt about anything, it is better to be cautious and call your doctor and check.