Where Do You Put Your Stress?

Written By: Sarah Coleman, CD-SV

This article is a contribution on behalf of the IDA Health & Wellness Taskforce. 

Detailing is a physically intensive job. Whether you’re a technician, manager, or business owner, the job is stressful and invasive on our bodies and minds. Then, most of us have stress outside of our jobs. Family stress, financial stress, relationship stress, just a lot of stress. That stress gets stored in our bodies. It gets trapped, literally, in our muscles and joints — in our shoulders, backs, hips. But most of us seem to not do much with this. It seems that we choose to just “deal with it”. When I ask colleagues if they stretch before they start their day and when they’re ending their day, 9 out of 10 people in our industry say “NO". When I ask them “Why not?”, the answers are usually, “I don’t have time for that” or “I don’t think it would make a noticeable difference". The people that state they don’t have the time or don’t think it’ll make a difference will have no problem scrolling on social media for a few minutes or hours. This usually doesn’t lead to helping their stress levels. So why not take five minutes a day to make yourself feel better and be more productive?

Why should this change? What benefits would you get from making this change? Let’s explore.

When you’re experiencing stress, there is a good chance that you feel like your muscles are tight. This is because your muscles tense up in response to physical and emotional stress. The tension is a built-in physiological response often called the “fight or flight mechanism”.  Once a useful survival response to real threats, we now cause our bodies to run a physiological response to environmental or perceived stressors. Heightened muscle tension can lead to a decrease in the range of motion. When this happens, you increase the likelihood of straining the muscles in your back. As a chronic physical condition, this is a set up for increased risk of injury. 

By beginning to stretch daily, you can help heal existing back injuries. Regular stretching can also help prevent future back pain and other future injuries by strengthening your back and reducing your risk for muscle strain through increased flexibility.

Participating in regular stretching can help prevent injury and increase flexibility. It can also help to calm your mind. While you’re stretching, take the time to do some mindful meditation and clear your mind to give yourself a "mental break." Whether you’re new to exercise, a seasoned athlete, or have a labor-intensive job, you can benefit from a regular stretching routine. By incorporating 5 to 10 minutes of dynamic and static stretches into your daily workout, you can increase your range of motion, improve your posture, increase blood flow to your muscles, and ease your mind.

I highly encourage everyone to incorporate a daily stretching routine for themselves and their team members. We all live in a stressful world. We can all agree that we all can use a little help with feeling better mentally and physically. For best stretching practices, I suggest speaking with a professional coach, yoga instructor, physical therapist, chiropractor, etc., for the proper guidance on what is best for your body. 

*The IDA is not a provider of medical or health services, and the information provided herein does not constitute medical advice. Please talk to your medical healthcare provider.