Avoid poor circulation or fix it

 

By Laurie Sweig 

 

There
are so many benefits to moving every single part of our bodies that
it’s hard to keep track of them all. Here’s another to add to the list –
circulation.

 

As we know, moving does get the heart pumping. The bigger
and faster the movement, the faster the heart beats. That is the heart’s
job. It’s a pump and its function is to get nutrient- and oxygen-rich
blood everywhere in your body. The thing you may not be aware of is that
it has help. It’s true. That assistance comes from the skeletal muscles
of your body.

 

We tend to think that the role of skeletal muscles is
to move us. That is their primary function. After receiving a signal
from your brain, such as “hey, I need to lift my left knee,” the muscles
will change from long to short or short to long to make that happen.
It’s that muscle contraction that results in a pull or a release on the
bones of the body. That is the movement that we see. The movement that
we can’t see is a microscopic flow of fluids within the tissues. That is
circulation. The more frequent the movement, the healthier the tissues.
The longer a tissue (and the cells within the tissue) goes with little
or no circulation, the harder it will be for the tissue to grow or
regenerate and perform well.

 

Let’s apply this information to sitting.
When we sit for hours at a time we are limiting the bone and muscle
configuration in the lower body. Any movement that there might be is
limited. The muscles are not fully contracting or relaxing and therefore
there is limited flow throughout the tissues. Over time, the range of
motion is reduced (try touching your toes) and with that so is the
circulation. A lack of adequate blood flow to any part of your body can
have consequences. On a minor level it leaves us feeling exhausted even
though we have done nothing. On a serious level poor circulation can
lead to bumps and bruises not healing and turning into ulcers. Unmanaged
ulcers can result in tissue death and inflections. In scary scenarios
this can lead to amputations.

 

When it comes to our bodies we really
need to think about the long game. If there are movements that you can’t
do now start working at them. Touch your toes. Lunge forward and back.
Do some Burpees. Kick off your shoes and get your toes moving (wiggle
‘em, spread ‘em, lift ‘em). That’s another area where restricted
movement (being in shoes all day) leads to poor circulation. Start
slowly, be patient and be consistent.

 

Our bodies want to be healthy
and we want to be pain free. We have to remember that we are on the same
team. Listen to those niggly messages that you get. You know the ones.
That twitch in the lower back, the tightness in the knee or numbness in a
toe. Chances are movement will help work that out by feeding the
tissues that are starving.
Something to think about.