Welcome to FYZICAL Brevard Beaches: June 2022
Summer, a time of getting out and being active, is upon us. The sea turtles are traveling to shore to build nests, school is winding down for a few months and adventure awaits. Whether your adventure includes surfing, swimming, beach volleyball or just cruising the beach looking for seashells, your ability to move and maintain balance is paramount. Let us welcome this new season with activities that improve our physical and mental health, and what better place than the nearby beach and ocean we are so blessed to have as our backyard!
Now is the time to indulge in a life outdoors, and where better to enjoy the wonders of outdoor activity than at our local beaches. Some may propose the calm sounds of the ocean provide a place for our minds to rest, and our imagination to wander. However, here at FYZICAL Therapy and Balance Centers, we propose the beach is an endless runway of change, activity, and adventure. Allow this perfect opportunity to let our feet wander as far as our minds with the beauty of the beach.
Walks on the beach while relaxing, can propose great challenge to some. Spending time with our toes in the sand requires stability in the ankles, knees, hips, and core. The variability of the sand challenges our balance – both anticipated and reactive balance. Anticipated balance is the balance used when we see a challenge ahead and prepare for it. Reactive balance refers to the strategies used when a surprise challenge enters our path like a rogue beach ball flying in our direction. These movement adaptations influenced by the environment require our body and minds to react quickly and continuously. The beach environment helps to develop our balance strategies. This requires the muscles in our body to work together for effective and efficient movement.
Time on the beach may result in sore muscles in our feet, legs, and hips. Some common injuries sustained from walking the beach include:
- Ankle sprain – A missed step in the sand may potentially cause an ankle to “roll” unexpectedly.
- Knee hyperextension – A change in the depth of the sand may cause your knee to bend “backwards” or twist to the side suddenly.
- Muscle Strain – The sand’s unlevel surface cause the feet to adapt their movement pattern consistently. A loss of balance, resulting in an uncontrolled quick movement, may result over stress to a muscle.
The goal of Physical Therapy is to help patients develop strategies to anticipate and react using the proper muscles to first, prevent injuries and secondly, to recover from injuries. Balance is essentially for enjoying all areas of life. Balance not only requires strength in muscles that we often didn’t even know we had, it also requires those muscles to work together both for control and for quick action.
Balance, mental, spiritual, and physical, can always be worked on and improved. You are never too old or too young to improve your balance so you can further …. LOVE YOUR LIFE!