Despite our best intentions, most New Year’s resolutions are notorious for their high rate of failure. From unrealistic weight loss goals to punishing financial promises, the changes we want most in the New Year can sometimes feel impossible to attain.
When it comes to setting goals, we should always aim high. But by laying out several smaller, concrete goals rather than one large goal, we give ourselves a realistic path to lasting change.
2021 is the year for orthopaedic health, and the team at Alabama Orthopedic Surgeons has the tips and tricks we need to set reasonable physical and mental health goals. Remaining active, healthy, and happy begins with these smarter orthopaedic practices for the New Year!
Exercise Smarter
Maintaining an exercise routine can be doubly tough for those of us with arthritis or with chronic pain in our lower extremities. Walking, biking, and swimming are all excellent alternatives to higher-impact activities. Minor weight training can also keep our bones and joints strong—both now and in years to come.
Resolve may keep us active in a resolution’s early days, but it isn’t always enough to keep us at it by month three or four. Whichever activity you choose, make sure it’s something you can enjoy. Listen to podcasts as you work out or set smaller performance goals for your preferred activity.
Best of all, enlist a family member or friend in a mutual health goal pact.
Eat Smarter
Another entry in the “easier said than done,” category, this resolution is, in fact, quite doable. To improve your orthopaedic health in the kitchen, two famous nutrients are key: calcium and vitamin D.
While we all know the importance of calcium in bone health, it’s worth pointing out that nearly every bit of calcium we consume goes directly to strengthening bones and teeth. Among other things, vitamin D regulates the amount of calcium in the body and directs the nutrient where it’s most needed.
High calcium foods include dark-green leafy vegetables, beans, milk, yogurt, and cheese. A healthy dose of vitamin D can be had from fatty fish and seafood, mushrooms, egg yolks, and good old-fashioned sunlight. Try speaking to your physician about dietary supplements too.
Dress Smarter
Looking good and feeling good are not mutually exclusive, but depending on your preferred footwear, you may be sacrificing a little too much for daily fashion.
High heels, loafers, flip flops, and other fashionable examples can take their tolls on our backs, hips, knees, ankles, and even our heels. Trading footwear of this kind for some comfortable, appropriately sized athletic shoes can improve your orthopaedic health drastically.
While spending an afternoon in your best fashionable footwear may feel fine at first, the long-term effects can be seriously damaging. If you must wear them, consider adding an insole to your favorite fashion-forward footwear or shopping for more supportive, but still stylish, alternatives.
Sit Smarter
For many of us, the notion of “bad posture” can be a figurative and literal sore spot. We’ve been sitting the same way for decades and don’t feel much like thinking about it or changing it now.
Even so, neck, back, shoulder, and even hip pain can result from year after year of sitting poorly, making a posture renaissance all the more necessary. From proper desk height to how and when we carry our luggage, purses, and backpacks, this resolution spans nearly the whole of how we stand, walk, and sit.
By starting this year, or even today, you will have taken your first step toward correcting a bad habit that’s plagued you your whole life (and may continue to do so without intervention).
Resolution Smarter
The compassionate professionals at Alabama Orthopaedic Surgeons are here to help you achieve your New Year’s health resolutions. When it comes to aiming high and achieving your goals, plan smarter, not harder.
To improve your orthopaedic health in the New Year, start by tackling that lingering pain or joint discomfort or talk to your physician about what you can do in the gym, in the kitchen, or in your wardrobe.