How to Warm-Up

At Dr. Kent Carlomagno’s Summit Chiropractic and Longevity Clinic, one of our guiding principles is that patients should be educated on how they can prevent problems before they require treatment. A great many of the issues we see with our patients’ soft tissues is due to their incorrect understanding of how to warm-up prior to working out. Often, this is due to an outdated education, so we thought we’d provide the current understanding.

Not every stretch is a warm-up. Static stretches, in which the patient holds a pose for several seconds, do not increase blood flow. Stretching muscles and tendons when they are cold actually causes them to stiffen and contract. These kinds of stretches should only be done after the patient has increased their heart rate through aerobic exercise. There are, however, dynamic stretches, which raise the heart rate and loosen up soft tissues at the same time. These include lunges, arm circles, and the way in which yoga is commonly practiced as a therapeutic exercise.

Other ways to increase blood flow are running in place and using a stationary bike. It will take several minutes of exercise for the body to warm-up, and more trying exercise should not be attempted until then. Patients need to understand that not every hurt is a good hurt; the strain following cold, static stretches is most definitely not good.

Dr. Kent Carlomagno operates Summit Chiropractic and Longevity Center at 710 C Street, Suite #12, San Rafael, California, 94901. To schedule an appointment, call 415-721-7520 or visit SummitChiro.net and fill out a contact sheet.