It’s finally here. The summer of 2017 – and it’s going to be a great one.
Instead of focusing on beach bodies and vacations – I’m joining the growing group of physical therapists and other movement experts who are choosing to make this summer the #SummerOfMove. It’s a national campaign organized by Free The Yoke and its main goal: to bring awareness to the innumerable benefits of exercise and encourage others to get out there and move more! More on that below…
Whether we acknowledge it or not – exercise, movement, and nutrition professionals are battling on the front lines against the huge crisis that is chronic disease.
Chronic conditions such as Type 2 Diabetes, Heart & Lung Disease, Hypertension, Obesity, and Chronic pain are causing serious and often life-threatening consequences for adults all over our country. They’re also impacting our kids (here’s an adorable clip of our little lady trying to educate kiddos on this):
The negative impact that these conditions and more have on peoples’ health & wellness, the burden that it places on the healthcare system, and maybe most importantly how they can often obliterate an individuals’ quality of life are profound.
Here are a couple of infographics that illustrate it better than I could put into words:
SOME QUICK STATS…
From: National Council on Aging (ncoa.org)
COSTS OF CHRONIC DISEASE…
Here are the estimated total costs accrued through our healthcare system associated with chronic disease (via the CDC):
- Heart disease & stroke: $315 billion
- Cancer: $157 billion
- Diabetes: $245 billion
- Obesity: $147 billion
- Arthritis: $128 billion
CHRONIC DISEASE PREVENTION…
So the impact of chronic disease is staggering.
BUT…Here’s the hope if you’re struggling with any of these conditions:
Exercise can change your story. Exercise isn’t medicine, it’s better than medicine.
While there are many things you can do to combat chronic disease, exercise is one of the PRIMARY things that you can change immediately to get started on reversing your situation.
THERE’S A REASON THAT THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION RECOMMENDS 150 MINUTES OF MODERATE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY OR 75 MINUTES OF VIGOROUS PHYSICAL ACTIVITY EVERY WEEK.
Rest assured that your body is resilient. Your body is able to adapt for the better in many ways that we understand and in many ways that we have yet to understand.
By simply increasing your physical activity level, you can significantly improve your health NOW … and your future self will thank you.
Walking daily, committing to riding 200 miles on your bike this summer, finding a good CrossFit community to join up with, scheduling some hiking trips with the family … these are the kinds of things that can make this #SummerOfMove your best summer yet.
If you search through the #SummerOfMove hashtag on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook, you will see physical therapists from across the country documenting their movement journey – the ups, the downs, the failures and the incredible results. There are 27 teams with about 20 members each who will be competing within this campaign to find out who can log the most exercise and movement, who can come the furthest in their health & wellness journey, and much more.
The winners of this #SummerOfMove get the opportunity to donate all of the proceeds of this competition to the charity of their choice. We are on team #MoveItMoveIt and we are playing for The Stand Haiti Project – a non-profit organization committed to establishing permanent access to orthopedic rehab services in Haiti. Please check out this wonderful organization and feel free to donate as you’re able. You can learn more about STAND at www.standhaitiproject.org . With any luck, Team #MoveItMoveIt may win this year’s #SummerOfMove and be able to contribute significantly to their mission!
And we have a lot of rockstar teammates! Follow these guys on Twitter to see how a few of us are doing:
@zakiafzaldpt
@dancingdpt
@AlexisMorganPT
@TimRethornSPT
@MikeCrinion
@Phil_Hageman
@stowbloodDPT
@CindiRauert
Follow what we’re doing on our journey, and maybe join up in the fun! Whatever you do, realize that there is no better time than the present to start moving more and improving your health.
WHAT WILL YOU TO MAKE THIS YOUR BEST SUMMER YET?