Maintaining health and wellness in the age of social distancing
Charlotte Walters
Guest columnist
We used to think pain would keep us from our favorite pastimes. Right now, it's social distancing. The combination of pain and social distancing can create the perfect storm that disrupts our routines.
As a physical therapist for the past 12 years, my role has been to help alleviate pain. Some pain is short-lived, like a small ankle sprain which heals in a few weeks. Other pain is lingering, lasting months, even years.
I have lived in these mountains for the past two decades. After I attended grad school at Western Carolina University, I settled down in Black Mountain where I married and started to raise a family. This community lends itself to being a place of peace by providing a pace for simple living to truly enjoy life.
I realized a couple of years ago that my training as a physical therapist, while excellent in itself, was somewhat limited. It was difficult, at times, for my patients who struggled with chronic pain to return to their favorite physical hobbies and activities.
As I dug into the nitty gritty, I realized the missing piece — what we eat greatly affects our bottom line.
Whether you’re an athlete, weekend warrior, active adult, young parent or baby boomer, we all need our joints to work, brains to think and energy to get up in the morning. We cannot control much of our circumstances, but we can choose to nourish our body each and every meal we eat.
In light of this season of the global pandemic we’re facing, I think these daily decisions that we make, when it comes to health, have come into the forefront for many of us. Having a strong immune system is paramount to fight the viruses and bacteria we encounter everyday. Decreasing our risk for chronic diseases, like heart and lung disease, diabetes or autoimmune disorders, has also come into the spotlight in this pandemic.
What if we could optimize our bodies both for defense of disease and for optimal movement in work and leisure activities?
Here are five simple examples of how to build and strengthen your body against viruses:
Relax and de-stress to stop the adrenaline rush. Adrenaline that comes by high-stress serves you well in small doses but, long term, it weakens the immune system.
Stay hydrated. Water flushes toxins out of the body before they have time to harm you.
Get important vitamins and antioxidants by making half of your plate veggies and fruits of all colors.
Get eight hours of sleep if you possibly can! Your body goes to work healing itself while you sleep.
Move. A walk, hike, run or any kind of exercise 20 minutes a day increases your circulation and lung capacity, strengthens muscles and helps your body produce antioxidants.
Not only do those five actions build up your body, but they also set you up for healthy joints, a focused brain and energy to enjoy your daily life.
I love living here in Black Mountain because of the people who make it a strong community. I have also found my calling as a physical therapist dedicated to serve my clients in this sweet Swannanoa Valley.
In the coming months, I want to offer you a perspective on achieving wellness through simple principles of movement and nutrition.
Let’s keep this community strong and healthy together.
Charlotte Walters is the owner of Mountain Wellness & Physical Therapy, a mobile and concierge therapy practice. Her passion is helping active adults overcome chronic pain to live their best life. Mountain Wellness & PT offers telephysical therapy services for social distancing. Charlotte can be reached at Charlotte.Walters@mountainwellnesspt.com. Follow her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/charlotte.walters.509.