A new year is upon us. Every year in January the same problem arises, after being very lazy during the festive period you get the keen new year gym goers, gardeners, hikers etc doing too much too soon. We see it every year in our clinic during January, February and March. People just don’t appreciate that suddenly being active after prolonged inactivity, what ever the type of exercise is a big shock to our bodies. And when we surprise our bodies like this we are much more likely to pull a muscle or strain a joint.

Even if it’s simply going for a long walk our advice would be to gently ease yourself back into the activity and always stop at the first signs of any discomfort. Always remember that the ill-effects can often develop the next day, so start exercise with caution and gradually build yourself up over a couple of weeks.

Also remember to stretch. Even if your just doing a spot of gardening you’ll be using muscles that you haven’t used in a long time, so get them warmed up before you start.