Stress is defined as an experience that is emotionally or physically challenging that poses a threat to homeostasis in your body. When you experience a stressor, your body responds with the stress response system, which activates the sympathetic nervous system, causes a fight or flight response, and increases cortisol and adrenaline in your body to survive the threat. It is essential to complete the stress cycle, as remaining in a chronic state of stress can have significant negative effects psychologically and physiologically. Exercise is one of the best ways to complete the stress response cycle by engaging your body in movement, which communicates to your body that you are fleeing or surviving the threat of the stressor.

Multiple sclerosis is a progressive neurological disease in which the immune system attacks the protective covering of the brain and spinal cord, causing damage to nerves and leading to a variety of cognitive and physical impairments. From early stage through disease progression, physical therapy-led exercise rehabilitation can reduce functional dysfunction in MS patients, manage and address symptoms like fatigue and spasticity, slow progression of the disease, and improve quality of life.

Regular exercise can help you complete the stress response cycle and help your body return to homeostasis. The stress response system is a mechanism that is triggered by a threat to one’s well-being or survival, causing a cascade of protective physiological responses that prepare the individual to combat the threat or flee from it. While this is helpful in response to an acute stressor, a chronic stress response can have detrimental effects on your physical and mental health, contributing to disease, chronic pain, and anxiety. Exercise helps you complete the stress cycle by engaging your body in movement, which completes the flight response your body prepares for when encountering a stressor. Exercise can also be used therapeutically to help calm the chronic stress response and reduce chronic pain through graded low-impact exercise.

Check out our latest blog highlighting 10 tips for exercising in the cold. Exercising outdoors, even in winter, can be very beneficial. Exercising in the cold can actually help you burn more calories, enhance your endurance, positively affect your metabolism, and improve your mental health. However, it is important to take precautions when exercising outdoors in the cold to stay safe. Check out our 10 tips to safely exercise outdoors in the cold!

Heart disease is a systemic cardiovascular disease that can lead to serious cardiac events, such as high blood pressure, heart attack, heart failure, and heart rhythm abnormalities. Regular exercise not only can help prevent the onset and development of cardiovascular disease but also is a critical therapeutic tool to improve outcomes for those with heart disease. Physical therapy can help reduce the risk of developing heart disease and improve the function of those with heart disease through a personalized exercise program to improve aerobic capacity, strength, and endurance safely.

Regular exercise can improve your cholesterol levels, lowering your LDL cholesterol and increasing your HDL cholesterol for improved heart health. Cholesterol is a lipid that circulates within our blood. While HDL cholesterol helps in the transport of lipids to the liver for disposal, LDL cholesterol can build up in the wall of our arteries and negatively affect our heart health. Research has shown that moderate-intensity aerobic exercise can increase good HDL cholesterol, high-intensity aerobic exercise can lower LDL and triglyceride levels, and moderate-intensity resistance workouts are effective in lowering cholesterol.

Chronic pain affects up to 28% of American adults each year and is one of the most common reasons adults seek medical care. Chronic pain develops when the nerves that communicate pain to the brain become hypersensitive, causing the brain to perceive that area of the body as a potential threat and therefore painful beyond the normal healing timeframe. Exercise is an effective way to manage chronic pain by building muscle strength, reducing pain sensitivity, and improving mobility through targeted strengthening, low-impact aerobic exercise, stretching, and aquatic therapy.

Regular exercise is an essential component of healthy aging, helping seniors maintain independence and improve their physical and mental health. Exercise has numerous benefits for older adults, including improving muscle strength, building bone density, enhancing mobility and balance, and slowing age-related cognitive decline. Experts recommend that older adults engage in moderate-intensity aerobic exercise 150 minutes a week, strength train twice a week, and engage in weekly balance and flexibility training.

Stress causes a cascade of physical responses in the body, triggering the fight or flight response. While acute stress can be beneficial to react to a stressful situation, chronic stress can have far-reaching negative effects on your physical and mental health, impacting your nervous, cardiovascular, respiratory, reproductive, immune, and gastrointestinal systems. Once the stress cycle has been activated, it is essential to move through the stress response and complete the stress cycle to prevent chronic stress. One of the best ways to complete the stress cycle and bring your body back to a calm state is exercise.

Check out our infographic on the health benefits of exercise! Exercise is a critical component of a healthy lifestyle. Consistent exercise not only can prevent diseases like diabetes or cardiovascular disease but can also help you manage these chronic conditions and maintain function, endurance, and mobility. It is recommended to engage in at least 150 minutes of aerobic exercise each week, or 30 minutes a day, and strength train at least two times per week.

February is American Heart Month, a month to focus on ways to lower your risk of heart disease and improve your overall heart health. One of the best ways to improve your heart health is through regular exercise, incorporating both aerobic exercise and strength training. Regular physical activity plays a key role in preventing cardiovascular disease and helping you regain aerobic capacity following a cardiac event. As you begin your exercise journey toward better heart health, a physical therapist can help you by designing a customized, progressive exercise program.

In Northeast Ohio, the winter months can bring frigid temperatures, ice, and snowy weather. However, the colder weather doesn’t mean that those outdoor activities are canceled. Whether you’re an athlete, a runner, an outdoors lover, or just need a break from the inside, you can still exercise outdoors safely by following these 10 tips!