{"id":13734,"date":"2025-09-13T11:29:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-13T11:29:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/13734\/"},"modified":"2025-09-13T11:29:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-13T11:29:12","slug":"6-bad-habits-for-your-joints-and-muscles-that-orthopedic-surgeons-wish-youd-quit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/13734\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Bad Habits for Your Joints and Muscles That Orthopedic Surgeons Wish You\u2019d Quit"},"content":{"rendered":"

And while it\u2019s always good practice to take at least one rest day<\/a> every 7 to 10 days, it\u2019s especially important to embrace downtime<\/a> as you begin any new routine or sport. As for how often? It depends on your fitness, but extreme soreness, tiredness, and muscles that feel like spaghetti are signs to chill. Also keep in mind that \u201cthe body has an intrinsic ability to heal, but the time it takes to do so will go up as you age,\u201d Andrew Carbone, MD<\/a>, orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine physician at the Orlando Health Jewett Orthopedic Institute, tells SELF. So give yourself more grace with each passing year.<\/p>\n

3. You twist or turn to pick up things from the ground.<\/p>\n

A sideways lean or twisted reach might seem like the most efficient way to pluck a fallen pen or kid\u2019s toy from the floor. But according to Dr. Shah, the extra effort you might spare isn\u2019t worth the potential pain. Bending and twisting from a standing or seated position creates \u201ctorque around your hips and risks you throwing your back into it,\u201d he explains. You could wind up pulling a muscle or even herniating a disc<\/a> (which is when the soft center of a rubbery cushion in your spine bulges or bursts, triggering nerve pain).<\/p>\n

What to do instead: Be mindful of how you\u2019re bending (and snapping), and avoid any spiraling motion. Instead, \u201cface the object head-on so you can stabilize your spine, and then use your legs to generate the power to get down and up,\u201d Dr. Shah says. It might sound like a lot of hubbub if you\u2019re just grabbing something small, but no matter the size, following good lifting mechanics is key to avoiding injury, he says.<\/p>\n

4. You bypass a real warm-up before working out.<\/p>\n

Let us be the nagging voice in your head the next time you\u2019re tempted to jump into a workout cold: Don\u2019t do it. Not only will you miss out on all the benefits of warming up<\/a> (like getting a better burn<\/a>), but also, you\u2019ll be flirting with potential pain. \u201cMuscles and tendons are a material just like any other,\u201d Dr. Backstein explains. \u201cIf they\u2019re cold and you put sudden strenuous tension on them, you can get microscopic tears, and it\u2019s those tears that cause the inflammation behind overuse injuries.\u201d That doesn\u2019t mean you can get away with a quickie calf or hamstring stretch either. Static stretches (wherein you hold a pose) don\u2019t get the blood flowing to your muscles and loosen up your joints for movement, Dr. Shah says.<\/p>\n

What to do instead: Do a 5- to 10-minute warm-up<\/a> before you start any physical activity. It should get your heart rate elevated and target the joints you\u2019ll be flexing in the workout to follow, Dr. Shah says. For instance, that means focusing on the movement of your knees and hips if you\u2019re going to be running or bending and loosening up your shoulders if you\u2019ll be doing overhead moves.<\/p>\n

5. You mostly exercise the muscles along the front of your body.<\/p>\n

The muscles running up the back of your body (a.k.a. your posterior chain) are out of sight, so there\u2019s a good chance they might slip out of mind too. \u201cEverybody loves to work out the stuff that\u2019s right in front of them, like the pecs, biceps, core, and quads,\u201d Dr. Carbone points out. These are the muscles you can see grow in the mirror, after all. But when you create an imbalance\u2014beefy front-side muscles and wimpy backside ones\u2014you risk injury. The strong ones overcompensate for the weak, which messes with your stability and mobility. In particular, pumped-up quads and flimsy hamstrings are a recipe for hip and knee issues, like ACL tears, Dr. Carbone points out. Not to mention, a weak back can foster poor posture and the neck, shoulder, and back issues that come along with it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"And while it\u2019s always good practice to take at least one rest day every 7 to 10 days,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13735,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[13964,163,521,85,46,13961,514,13963,13962],"class_list":{"0":"post-13734","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthcare","8":"tag-back-pain","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-healthcare","11":"tag-il","12":"tag-israel","13":"tag-joint-pain","14":"tag-pain-management","15":"tag-shoulder-pain","16":"tag-sore-muscles"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13734","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13734"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13734\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}