FEELING GREAT: How to defeat those stiffness and tension health ‘monsters’

It's that time of year again.... during the sort of cold spell we are having right now in the winter months, one or two health monsters are lurking inside the bodies of men and women aged 40, 50 and 60, and come out to play on a daily basis.

Their names: Stiffness and Tension.

Both run wild in your joints and muscles, showing up when you try to lean forward (and struggle) or turn your neck (and can’t) meaning you have to turn your whole body just to look over your shoulder. And although nobody wants to meet either of them, very few people ever doing anything to prevent their impact, and not many will ever try to understand these ‘monsters’ or even face up to living with them.

And you know what? Some men and women even think that living with stiffness and tension is normal – accepting that it must be an age thing, and they’ll have to accept it. I’ve got some good news, because I’m going to explain how YOU can beat both. But first, you’ve got to understand where these monsters come from.

The tension monster lurks when you’re in bed and reading at night and surfaces in your neck and shoulders. The stiffness monster is lurking in your knees when you try to rise from the couch after watching TV for too long, and is in your lower back some mornings when you’re trying to reach down and put your socks and shoes on – often failing.

But the really strange thing is that some people will accept this ill health and situation as if it’s normal, as if it’s something they are happy and willing to live with – and suffer from. I’ve seen plenty of patients in the Paul Gough Physio Rooms who will happily put up with stiffness and tension in their body for 30 or 40 years. Sure, the battle with the ‘stiffness monster’ is a battle you can’t win - and once you hit 50, this thing will never stop - but here’s the thing, it wants you to stop!

What a lot of you reading this don’t understand is that stopping or even slowing down if you’re feeling stiff is the last thing you should ever do. And next week I’ll tell you just why and how you shouldn’t stop. It’s vital!

For more tips and advice, please call my team for a FREE copy of my book The Healthy Habit. It’s a great New Year boost for anyone looking to improve their outlook and health! I have a couple of copies available to the first readers to get in touch. Call 01429 866771 or visit paulgoughphysio.com.