STIFF BODY AND MIND

  • Stiffness is defined as being: inelastic, inflexible, unmalleable, hardened or rigid. 
  • Being inflexible is a wide ranging precursor of human malady. 
  • It affects us both physically and mentally, ​causing a significant depression in quality of life and overall health.
  • ​Yet the solution to being stiff is quite simple.
Reducing stiffness is one of the easiest ways
 to really make a difference in our lives. 

Stiffness is such a common condition for almost everyone. Who doesn't wake up stiff? Who doesn't have a hard time straightening up after an evening of sofa TV viewing? It is so common that we take it as a given that nothing can or really should or needs to be done about.

The belief in that myth is evidence of
how stiffness affects our mind as well as our body.

What makes us stiff?
  • Inactivity
  • Sleeping
  • Stress
  • Fear, anxiety, depression
  • Working on the computer
What happens to the body when we are stiff?
  • The muscles and joints all over the body become rigid.
  • The muscles shorten and harden.
  • The joints loose range of motion.
  • Bloodflow through the joints is compromised, resulting ultimately in less oxygen being absorbed into the body's cells. This affects our health negatively directly.
 
  • When we are stiff, it often feels achy to move.
  • Stiffness leads directly to spine encumbrance and conditions like sciatica, stenosis, bulging disks, pinched nerves.
  • Stiffness leads to a higher risk of injury with activity.

Inactivity is the major culprit.

The human body is not designed to be still. We are never still until we die. Our entire life there is movement in our body: our heart beats, our lungs expand and contract, our blood circulates. When we are still, the weight of our body places so much stress on our joints and bones, especially the spine and the feet. 

Seated inactivity is the most common.
  • When we sit inactive for a half hour, as much as 50% less blood flows to the feet.
  • The backs of the legs shorten and stiffen causing leg cramps at night and difficulty walking.
  • Our posture slumps and causes the rib cage to collapse resulting in as much as 30% less oxygen intake.
Telltale red flag: Doing nothing makes you tired
but being active gives you energy.

How muscle stiffness affects back health:

If muscles near the spine tighten and shorten, they can pull against the disks between the vertebrae and cause the disk to bulge, placing pressure on nearby root nerves. Intense pain that is paralyzing often results. That muscle contraction can become a muscle spasm, tightening that does not stop, and often causes many other problems including advanced back maladies.

Muscle spasms.

Ever wake up in the middle of the night with muscle spasms in your legs or feet? We have to jump out of bed to get rid of the spasms. Intense to say the least and also potentially extremely painful. A muscle spasm is a muscle that is contracting but won't stop. So the contraction just keeps intensifying until we somehow manage to interrupt it. We intervene by walking which stretches the muscles that are spasming by forcing them to return to normalcy.

Muscle spasms are caused by a number of different factors including mineral deficiency. More can be learned about them by reading the article Stop Leg Cramps. One distinct condition is worth noting: During the day we often store tension in the body and do not release it through traditional means. Then at night, that tension will reveal itself as the body tries to relax. The result is that the tension takes over as we are deeply in sleep and a leg or foot cramp occurs.

We accept being stiff as simply part of the human condition. But it isn't. We can easily relieve stiffness by making a few very small changes in our behavior:

  • In the morning, do gentle stretching while laying down. Sit on the edge of the bed and exercise your feet and knees before standing on them.
  • Move at least 5 minutes out of every 30 when seated.
  • Gently move throughout the day. Avoid staying in one position for any length of time. Think of yourself as a dancer, being graceful.
  • Stretch your muscles in the evening before going to bed. Especially stretch the hamstrings. See Stop Leg Cramps for more information. Stretching at night reduces morning stiffness.
  • Good nutrition is essential. Several supplements affect the condition of the joints and muscles. Magnesium is one. Consult a qualified herbalist for more information.

One unexpected and very unwelcome result of the body becoming less flexible due to inactivity: The mind stiffens too.

This is the "hidden" cost of being less active. And it is a terrible price to pay. The longer you voluntarilay sit the less you want to do and the less you will do. Startlingly staying idle changes how your mind operates. It increases negativity and significantly increases resistance. But being inactive also makes you feel sluggish after a while as well. That sluggishness translates into a burden for the body and the mind, a heavier load to have to carry.
Our thought processes stiffen as much as our body does. We believe myths, even though proven to be wrong. Myths about aging for instance. As our mind stiffens when we are older, we fall victim more and more to the myth that aging is a case of going down hill and there's nothing we can do about it. Stiffly believing this causes us great physical and mental illness and loss of the quality of life of our golden years.
But the good news is that stiffness of mind is eased with physical movement. If we address this vulnerability physically we will in turn ease mental symptoms. Think about how much people's lives change when they decide to take a regular exercise class. Great positive change happens mentally as well as our preconceived fearful notions dissolving.

Regular exercise is such an easy solution!

What are best practices to reduce stiffness?

Here are the most important areas to pay attention to:
​
  • The back of the legs: to prevent leg cramps and relieve lower back stress; to ease walking. Stretch the hamstring and calf muscles that run down the back of the leg. Hold the stretch for 45 seconds on each leg before getting into bed. Do the stretch during your walks as well, whenever you feel tired.
 
  • The front of the chest: to improve breathing capacity causing an immediate boost in well being. Stretching the front of the chest is achieved mostly by contracting the opposite muscles. Increase upper back strength to keep the chest lifted. Sit so your waist is not touching the chair. Your chest will naturally lift. Bring your shoulders forward, up, back and down and hold them there. 
 
  • The back of the neck: The chest exercises directly impact the neck and improve its health. Keep remembering to bring your head back with your chin slightly tucked. Specific neck exercise to stretch the sides and back of the neck are excellent to include in your daily routine.
 
  • The knees, ankles and shoulders: Gentle joint manipulation accompanied by stretch to increase range of motion should be used to warm and protect the joints.
 
  • The muscles and joints of the lower back: Stretch across the sacroiliac joints at the back of the pelvis in particular. Use the deep abdominals to support the lumbar spine and keep the lower back from tightening up.
A great method for releasing stress: One of the most beneficial techniques for reducing joint stiffness is described in great detail in the article Joint Heaven. Using tiny circling movements deliberately and consistently has the amazing benefit of releasing the joint and surrounding muscles to then be stretched. It is especially therapeutic when used with the knee, hip, shoulder or neck.

Helpful information on how inactivity affects our health:

Effects of Inactivity: What extended sitting does to us. 
Do not believe everything you think: The mind plays tricks.
Now I know why we don't: Inactivity and delayed reactions.
Why have we failed? Why do so many still not exercise.