Prepare for Fall Hiking: 5 Minute Dynamic Stretching

Fall is such a great time to get outside for a hike and explore our paths and trails—the cooler temperatures and the bright fall colours make getting outside a wonderful and healthy activity. Whether you are new to hiking or have experience, it is important to know how to prepare for a hike.  Of course it is important to bring water and wear appropriate footwear, but it is also essential to prepare your body for a hike.

Dynamic stretching can warm up your muscles and get them ready for the hike. They involve moving through the stretches instead of holding one position.  Typical static muscle stretching require you to hold a position for 10 seconds or more, and dynamic stretching can better prepare your body for the different movements you will do during a hike.

A good dynamic warm up can improve your range of motion and flexibility around the joints in your hips and legs, and bring blood flow to those muscles to get them ready to move.  For hiking, the hip flexors, hamstrings and quads of the thighs, and calves are working all the time, especially if your trails are up and down hills. A pre-hike stretch should only take about 5-10 minutes, and should never be painful.

Then you’re all set to hit the trail!

Dynamic Stretches for Hiking:

  1. Straight-Leg Lateral Swing:  holding on to something for stability, keep your right leg straight and swing it in front of your body like a pendulum, lifting it as high as you can out to the side. Do not move your trunk.  Swing 10 times, then switch legs.
  • Side Lunge:  start with both feet wide apart and facing forward. Bend your right knee as you shift your weight over your right foot, then shift your weight all the way over to your left foot as you bend the left knee. Lunge back and forth 10 times in each direction.
  • Bent- Knee Forward Swing:  with your hands on a wall, bend up your right knee to a 90° angle, then drive it away to straighten behind you. Repeat by swinging the leg up and back 10 times, then switch sides.
  • Heel Raises over a Step: While holding on for balance, keep the balls of your feet on the edge of a step or ledge. Come up onto your toes of both feet, then lower down slowly until your heels are below the step, moving through the whole range of motion at the ankles. Repeat 10 times, keeping equal weight through both legs

Do We Really Need to Sit Up Straight?

Posture– or avoiding slouching—is often discussed by people who have lower back or neck pain.  People are often told to sit up straight, as poor posture has been thought to be one of the causes of back or neck pain. Research shows that people with low back pain may find certain postures painful, but it can’t be proven that the postures are the cause of pain.

Do We Really Need To Sit Up Straight?

Movement and changing positions can be helpful, as sedentary lifestyles are a risk factor for low back pain, among many other health conditions.

1. There is no single “correct” posture. Despite common posture beliefs, there is no strong evidence that one optimal posture exists or that avoiding “incorrect” postures will prevent back pain.

2. Differences in postures are a fact of life. There are natural variations in spinal curvatures, and there is no single spinal curvature strongly associated with pain. Pain should not be attributed to relatively “normal” variations.

3. Posture reflects beliefs and mood. Posture can offer insights into a person’s emotions, thoughts, and body image. Some postures are adopted as a protective strategy and may reflect concerns regarding body vulnerability. Understanding reasons behind preferred postures can be useful.

4. It is safe to adopt more comfortable postures. Comfortable postures vary between individuals. Exploring different postures, including those frequently avoided, and changing habitual postures may provide symptom relief.

5. The spine is robust and can be trusted. The spine is a robust, adaptable structure capable of safely moving and loading in a variety of postures. Common warnings to protect the spine are not necessary and can lead to fear.

6. Sitting is not dangerous. Sitting down for more than 30 minutes in one position is not dangerous, nor should it always be avoided. However, moving and changing position can be helpful, and being physically active is important for your health.

 7. One size does not fit all. Postural and movement screening does not prevent pain in the workplace. Preferred lifting styles are influenced by the naturally varying spinal curvatures, and advice to adopt a specific posture or to brace the core is not evidence based.

D. Slater et al. (2019) “Sit Up Straight”: Time to Re-evaluate. JOSPT.  49(8):562-564

How Normal is it to Pee in the Night?

I always hesitate to use the word “normal”, as there are so many factors that go into how often you pee.  If you typically get up once in the night, then that is probably normal for you.  If your sleep is disrupted because you’re getting up more frequently, then possibly something needs to change during the day while you’re awake.

  1. Are you drinking too much after dinner?  Assuming you’ve been drinking fluids through the day and your kidneys are working properly, stopping all fluid intake 2-3 hours before bed will reduce waking up at night.
  2. Are you drinking alcohol or caffeine?  Both are diuretics, meaning they make the body produce more urine. Enough said.
  3. Are you pregnant?  There is a pregnancy hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), which will increase blood flow to the kidneys and uterus—this will put pressure on the bladder.
  4. Do you take medications for high plod pressure, muscle relaxants or sedatives? Some of these drugs can make you pee more.
  5. Are you over 60?  As you age, the bladder tends to not hold as much, so if you’re drinking the same amount as when you’re younger, then you may have to pee more often. As well, menopausal women can have changes in the urethral tissue—the tube from the bladder that urine flows out—that make the urge to pee more prominent in the brain, so women may want to keep less in the bladder and empty more often.
  6. Do you have a UTI or prostate issue? If peeing in the night is also associated with burning or urgency, it could be due to a UTI or enlarged prostate.  A larger prostate can lead to thickening of the bladder tissue, and the prostate can make the urethra smaller, so the bladder holds less and is less elastic, and then has to push against the obstruction of the prostate. This equals more peeing, day and night.

When should you get it checked?

If you are up a few times in the night, try to keep a bladder diary for two 24 hour periods and see if there is a pattern—track how much you take in, what you are drinking, how often you pee, and how long is the flow of pee in seconds.  If you’re peeing more than 8 times in any 24 hour period, that is likely too much. If frequent peeing is also associated with increased thirst, weight loss or increased appetite, you should get checked by your family doctor. If you notice the frequency of peeing in the night getting worse, if you see blood in your urine, it is painful to pee, or if you’re going to pee often but only in small amounts, then get checked by your doctor.

Really, the pelvic floor?

If you’re peeing often, or have real urgency to pee through the day or night, then sometimes the brain and the pelvic floor can be the cause. If other things, like UTI or prostate issues, have been ruled out, sometimes having a pelvic floor that is too tight or too weak (or both) can be an issue.  The pelvic floor is often ignored by most until they have a problem.  At Elevation Physiotherapy & Wellness, we are your pelvic floor specialists who can help with bladder frequency and urgency due to pelvic floor issues—there is much that can be done, let’s start now!