Waking up soreness in your body muscles out of the blue and blaming it all on yourself for being too hard on yourself in your gym class yesterday, but then you remember that your fitness class is shut for over a month now as the country is still under the nationwide lockdown. You are not alone to experience this. Even after not involving in intense body movements as we all are homebound, some might notice body stiffness or ache even during their work from home. According to fitness experts, apart from workout sessions, emotions can equally make you feel soreness in your body.
Feeling emotionally weak or stressed during the lockdown or self-quarantine period can cause physical tension in your muscles. Although not stepping out is important to curb the spread of the deadly coronavirus, exercising is equally important to retain both physical and mental well-being. Non-activity along with not being able to meet your friends and family can worsen your health more.
Sometimes, when you’re so used to moving your muscles and you suddenly drop it due to some reason, impact your health negatively. What makes things worse is our incorrect body posture. As we are working from home and slouching on our couches, we tend to hunch over the computer screen that causes stress on the upper body and hips. We all are guilty here!
“When the body is under chronic physical stress, it affects our musculoskeletal, neurological, digestive and cardiovascular system,”said Dr. Joseph Bax, D.O, a pain management and rehabilitation specialist at Mount Sinai during an interview with Bustle.
According to the Bustle report, there are a lot of emotional factors of the on-going pandemic that can be causing stress in people’s lives, such as the increase in anti-Asian racism, economic free-fall, and depression due to loneliness from social distancing. All these can not only cause emotional or mental health but also shows up in your body.
It might be difficult to keep yourself away from negative thoughts during this times of uncertainty and fear, especially if you are already sore. You can start with gentle movements, eating well, doing yoga and even just sharing your thoughts with your loved ones over the call. Practicing self-care it utmost important to keep your mental and physical health from degrading.
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