Recently, I had a virtual check-in with a patient who had sustained an injury. They brought up that, incidentally, they are off their feet with injury and will be for quite a few weeks. Which led to some discussion about movement….
There are many reasons to move during the recovery phase of an injury. None of them, by the way, should be about about losing weight or pushing your injury before it’s ready.
Movement is about feeling good. Joint health. Mental health. Good Sleep. Heart Health. Protecting lean muscle mass. Healthy aging. Many people with high levels of activity feel irritable or stiff when they are suddenly forced to be sendentary.
So, what happens when you’re off your feet for a period of time with a foot or ankle injury, for example?
One of my favourite prescriptions is chair yoga. This is usually met with either a reaction that is either “what now?” or “Oh, yeah, I’ve heard of that…”
Essentially, movement that you do in a chair. Depending on your limitation or injury, it may still need to be modified, but it’s worth exploring.
Best resources to learn how to chair yoga?
- Always worth checking out your local community groups and Local Sports Partnership website to see if there are any programs. These are usually also very affordable.
- YouTube has endless videos if you enter “chair yoga” You can start with 4 10-minute sessions from the HSE https://www.hse.ie/eng/about/who/healthwellbeing/exercise-videos/chair-based-yoga-.html The benefit of YouTube is that it is endless and free. The downside is that some of what is on YouTube is of questionable quality.
Next level? One of my favourite prescribed exercise for older patients who will be off their feet for a good few weeks or more? Siel Bleu’s Seated Circuits led by virtually by experts. There is a charge for their classes, but it’s worth checking out to see if it’s in your price range.
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