Housework Athletes-recovery using Light Manual Muscle RelaxationCopyright Michael Gillan Long Distance Recovery Specialist

http://womensweb.aching-legs-relief.com/housework_recovery_from_fatigue.html

DO IT YOURSELF FITNESS-DO MORE HOUSEWORK

Do you want to get fit without the expense of gym fees and equipment costs?Do more housework!

There has been research by many fitness researchers that proves doing housework can burn caloriesand keep you fit-yes after all that vacuuming, washing, scrubbing and mopping you are exercising youupper and lower body, and doing a cardio workout!As you do housework you do you are exercising with each implement such as vacuum cleaner, or mopor even a bucket of water taking the place of, or substituting for a piece of gymnasium equipmentLove the housework or loath having to do it; one factor that both parties overlook is that it is cheaper;and just as effective as going to the gymOne thing you should be aware of though it like any gym work and exercising you should not overdothings because

When you clean up around the home you are actually being an ‘accidental athlete’

Like any athlete, or gym junkie, the housework ‘accidental athlete’ can pay a price for their fitness andperformance in accidental muscle soreness and stiffnessAll the kneeling, scrubbing, and moving furniture takes a toll after a hard day in the house-feeling,tight, wound up, stiff and sore is a common occurrence amongst people who work around the home astheir primary occupationIf not countered by some basic stretching and muscle recovery, any accidentally caused muscularproblems can develop into a long term injury-unfortunately; most of the people responsible for thehome duty side of things do not have workplace representatives or insurance to cover those injuriesHousework injuries are the silent epidemic of much of the population and the incidence of them can bereduced if the approach to housework is treated the same way as other athletes treat their approach tosport-that is with a professional attitude to prevention of injury and recovery afterwardsThey have a few stages they go through to be able to effect their best performance at what they do withas few injuries as possible

Prevention-Performance-Recovery

Housework Athletes-recovery using Light Manual Muscle RelaxationCopyright Michael Gillan Long Distance Recovery Specialist

http://womensweb.aching-legs-relief.com/housework_recovery_from_fatigue.html

Muscular stress-Range of movement and shoulder defensive positions

Muscles or soft tissue are made up of fibers all running in a line along the length of the muscle; theyare elastic and springy; like an elastic band when it is new, they will snap back into place when it ispulled and let goWhen the band ages and well used, it lose this ability to spring back into shape, and muscles can alsolose this ability and flexibility not only with ageing but also with soreness and tightness caused throughoveruse and the muscles repairing themselvesShoulder soreness and stiffness, reduced range of movement and with this the reduced blood flow tothe brain contributing to stress levels.

•

The shoulders may be sore to touch and have a slight hunch to them as the muscles have shortened whilemoving away from the soreness.

•

They may get tension headaches.

•

The range of movement from left to right when the head is turned may be restricted.

•

Feelings of fatigue

Upper neck and shoulder tension can also cause poor performance as it reduces muscle power-manypeople are aware that they carry tension in the shoulders and do attempt to fix this themselves bymaking a conscious attempt to straighten up; this usually fails because of muscle memory and thenatural inclination of the body to move away from pain.The shoulders may develop a hunched defensive position with the muscles pulling the rib cage upwardspreventing the lungs from being able to expand to full capacity; breathing is restricted to the upperportion of the lungs reducing the oxygen intake.The muscles feel sore and burning due to a build up of inflammation in the muscle structures.Sore muscle fibers

Sore burning shoulder

Bending over andlifting and pullingstretches neck, theback and shouldermuscles.It may tear somefibers leavingsoreness andinflammationAs the back muscles stretchlonger, the chestmuscles go shorterand tighten up.Areas of rippedfibers where triggerpoints maydevelop.

Housework Athletes-recovery using Light Manual Muscle RelaxationCopyright Michael Gillan Long Distance Recovery Specialist

http://womensweb.aching-legs-relief.com/housework_recovery_from_fatigue.html

Trigger Points

Trigger points are small areas fibers that have ripped and healed in the muscle body, they can causemuscle weakness or if they become active can refer pain to different areas of the body.Muscle soreness and stiffness are caused by micro tears in the muscle fibers from overuse; over thelong term a few minor muscle tears become chronic soreness as layer on layer of inflammation buildsup and gradually works its way to the surface and spreads.If a sharp pain is experienced when the sore area is pressed, it could be a ‘trigger point’; if when thepoint is pressed a dull aching pain is experienced in a different area, this is the referred pain from it.(This can feel like a dull nagging pain, so if you are rubbing some cream on in this area you areprobably putting it in the wrong place!)

*Range of movement test

If the neck is tight and the shoulders sore, the range of movement is limited and they stay in the oneposition putting the neck under tension and contributing to stress levels.Have someone standing directly behind the person to be tested and ask them to slowly turn the head tothe left (or right) as far as it will go without causing any discomfort.Do not force the head beyond which it can comfortably move, stop if it starts to hurt.Check to see how much outline of the nose is visible.Observe how far the head can turn before it hits a barrier to further movement.Now get them to take the head to the opposite side, again, note how much nose is visible.It may be found that the range of movement is restricted to one side or the other but the restriction canbe on both sides.

Other risk factorsRepetitive strain injuries from scrubbing and polishing

Occup Environ Med.2009 May;66(5):299-304. Epub 2009 Mar 1.

Lower back aches from pulling heavy furnishings

Spine.1998 Jul 15;23(14):1572-87.

Housemaids knee from toomuch kneeling

Med Lav.2007 May-Jun;98(3):232-51. javascript:PopUpMenu2_Set(Menu17598351);