The Benefits of Staying Active

We all need some time to relax – it is perfectly understandable if you want to spend your Sunday afternoon on the couch binge watching your favorite show instead of taking a 5-mile run. “Vegging out” occasionally is good for your mental health, but there are also many reasons, mental and physical, why you shouldn’t sit around on the couch all the time, every chance you get. Read on for some information that may motivate you to get up off that couch!

Why stay active?

Moving around has many benefits – it can improve your mood, for one thing, and it can also give you a feeling of accomplishment. It also gives your joints and muscles the chance to be active; if they aren’t active enough they become more and more weak. If you know any serious runners they may have described this phenomenon; if they have ever taken time off from running, when they returned to the sport they may have found their knee joints are so weak that it is painful.

Being sedentary is also one way to gain weight (as you probably know), which is bad for your circulatory system and your joints and can weaken your bones. If you do try to start an exercise routine after you’ve gained weight, you may find it very difficult – it is estimated that for every pound you gain, the pressure on your knees increases by about 4 pounds.

You may think that, if you suffer with knee joint pain, you are better off just resting. However, this can actually make the pain worse. Too much inactivity makes the knees weak, which makes it difficult for them to bear your weight, which makes it painful just to stand.

Relaxing is important, but so is being active. But you don’t have to run a marathon; even little things like taking the stairs instead of the elevator, walking around the block after dinner, or playing fetch with your dog can make a big difference.

If pain is keeping you from staying active, it may be time to see your doctor. Contact Specialty Orthopaedics in Harrison, New York, for an appointment today. Call 914-686-0111!