Trick or Treat without Back Pain this Halloween
What are you most afraid of this holiday season? Adults of all ages agree that the scariest part of Halloween is the possible back and leg pain after Trick-or-Treating. Like buying flowers on Valentine’s day, you’re expected to participate in the “Holiday Fun”, but are your legs and back up to the challenge? Here are a few tricks to help you Trick-or-Treat without back pain.
- Stretch before hitting the bricks
- Drink lots of water
- Wear comfortable shoes
- Stretch after you get home
Stretch Before Trick-or-Treating
You might not realize it, but walking around the neighborhood all night uses all of your muscles, from the base of your neck to your ankles. Most of your body can handle the continuous plodding impacts of Trick-or-Treating without noticeable trouble, but walking on concrete sidewalks can have a big impact on your back, hips, legs, and ankles.
Lower Back (piriformis) stretch before Trick-or-Treating
Make sure you start easy, lay on your back with your knees up, one foot over the other knee and push down on your elevated knee, then switch.
To increase the effectiveness of these stretches, click here to see more techniques and watch a tutorial video.
Hamstring (Nerve pain, sciatica or radiculopathy) stretch before Trick-or-Treating
Next, to prevent your hamstrings (which run the length of your legs), from stiffening up, try this stretch. If you have nerve pain in your hips or legs, this particular stretch is not only more effective than the more common stretch (bending over and touching your toes), it won’t trigger your nerve pain.
Start on your back, lift one leg vertically, grasp your hands behind your knee and pull towards your head.
To increase the effectiveness of these stretches, click here to see more techniques and watch a tutorial video.
Drink Water Before Trick-or-Treating
As much fun as it would be to drink your weight in homemade root beer, it will only cause you an upset stomach, a sugar-crash, and increased muscle tightness. Drinking water, especially after stretching, lowers your body’s pH balance by washing the lactic acid out of your muscles.
Wear Comfortable Shoes while Trick-or-Treating
The easiest way to trigger leg and back pain is walking around in uncomfortable shoes! Regardless of the costume, you decide to wear, you should wear comfortable shoes that allow you to walk normally, (no high-heels). You should have good padding in the soles of your shoes as well as proper arch support.
If you have small children that won’t be able to walk the whole way, make sure you bring a stroller or wagon, otherwise, you will be expected to carry them! A little preparation can make all the difference a happy holiday and a nightmare.
Stretching After Trick-or-Treating
When Halloween is finally over and the kids are in bed, it would be a good idea to drink some more water and go through your stretches again. Even with that, you might experience some tightness when you wake up on November 1st. If that’s the case you’ll need to move carefully and start the stretches over again.
Get out of bed without back pain
To get out of bed without pain, you can roll on your side, and push up off of the bed while lowering your legs to the floor.
To increase the effectiveness of these stretches, click here to see more techniques and watch a tutorial video.
We hope you have a Happy Halloween and if you need some help limbering up before or after the holiday, sign up for our “Free Answers Consult™”.
