Moving Safely: Body And Practice

Are you moving house and want to make sure you do it safely – without aggravating existing injuries or pain conditions?

Awesome.

We have some great tips for you to keep you and your family safe. But before we get to that, we wanted to let you know that the Apex Orthopedic Rehabilitation clinic is moving location too.

Our physical therapy services are now so popular with the local community in New Jersey that we've outgrown our current facilities and need to move to bigger and better premises.

Our new address is:

Cedar Hill Medical & Dental Center

541 Cedar Hill Avenue, 2nd floor

Wyckoff

New Jersey 07481

We look forward to seeing you there. Don't forget if you're interested in booking physical therapy sessions with us.

Still, you're not sure whether they're right for you. We offer all new patients the opportunity to come and visit us (at the new clinic) to view our facilities, meet the team and chat about the physical challenges you're facing right now.

It's a free consultation with zero obligation to rebook, so there is no financial investment on your part until you're 100% certain you want to go ahead and that we're the right choice for you.

If you would like to do that, you can book your free Discovery Session here. 

When you visit the new clinic, you can experience for yourself that patient care is at the heart of everything we do.

From the first moment that you step through our new doors as a new patient, you automatically become a member of the Apex Orthopedic Rehabilitation family. Our small, friendly clinic focuses on helping our patients move and feel better.

We don't try to see hundreds of patients in a day. Instead, we spend time getting to know you, your health challenges, and the reasons why you want to improve your physical function.

Then, we help you get back to doing all the things you love – whether it's the Shore Trail, playing soccer, or just getting up in the morning without pain. 

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What Can We Help You With?

We can help you find and fix the root cause of the following:

You don’t even need to come to the clinic. We can help you from the comfort of your own home with our Telehealth Physical Therapy sessions that we conduct virtually online using video.

So, if you're stuck at home due to mobility problems or because you're social distancing, you can still have physical therapy. 

Anyway, back to business…

How To Move House Safely 

If you've moved house before, you'll already know that moving is one of THE most stressful things you can do.

It ranks even higher than divorce or a relationship breakup. It can be emotional, too, if you've lived in your current house for a long time and brought your children up there, etc.

Plus, the apprehension of the moving date moving ever closer can cause great stress and tension in the lead-up to the big day.

All of which can create the perfect storm of conditions for your physical body when moving day finally approaches.

This is especially true if you have an underlying health condition, injury, or chronic pain. But it's not all doom and gloom; moving house and starting afresh in a new home, neighborhood, and a completely new environment can also be a positive, reinvigorating experience.

"A change is as good as a rest," as they say.

With Moving In Mind

So, we know that moving house is stressful.

Still, the other aspect that we don't tend to hear so much about in relation to moving home is that moving can be dangerous. 

We see lots of patients in the clinic with finger and toe injuries, pulled muscles, and back pain that are a direct result of moving house.

But the important thing to remember is that 99.9% of these injuries are avoidable. You can take various precautionary steps to stay safe and prevent injuries when it comes to moving day. They include:

“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail”:

Planning ahead is one of the most important aspects of a stress-free and safe move. For example, moving in the Spring/Summer is much safer.

Snow and ice on the ground can make carrying boxes back and forward an accident waiting to happen.

If you must move in Winter, check the weather in advance, and if snow is forecast, plan to make the walkways safe with salt/gravel before you move anything.

If you have small children and animals, they can be a tripping hazard, too, so if you can get somebody to watch them for you while you move. 

Don’t Rush:

Most accidents, both in and out of the home, are due to people rushing around and not taking proper care and attention.

Most car accidents, unfortunately, happen in "rush hour." So, it stands to reason that if you do everything at the last minute when you move house.

Desperate to get everything moved out before the next owners show up. You're much more likely to suffer an injury.

Likewise, if you try to do everything in one day in some sort of moving marathon, your muscles will get tired and be more susceptible to injury.

Instead, give yourself lots of time to get everything packed and ready in good time – well before your moving deadline. 

Declutter First:

Moving house is a great opportunity to declutter and get rid of some of the unnecessary items you’ve been hoarding (sometimes for decades) – like old mobile phones and chargers, children's toys, and clothes that they've grown out of.

Whatever is taking up space and not serving you anymore. Keep a few sentimental items and then recycle or donate the rest.

If you do this first, it means that the quantity of items you're moving is much less, making everything easier and "lighter," so you don't put your back out carrying things you don't even want or need.

Decluttering inside and outside your house can also enable you to “clear the decks” before moving day, so nobody trips over items in the hallway or on the stairs while they’re carrying boxes. 

Don’t overload boxes:

This one is a no-brainer, really, but it's easy to forget and just keep piling things into boxes without thinking about how heavy they're going to be on moving day.

We know that lifting heavy boxes filled to the brim is one of the fastest ways to sustain a serious back injury. There are no medals for using as few boxes as possible.

Prioritise safety instead. We recommend that you don’t lift anything that is more than 15% of your body weight. If something is particularly heavy, get help to lift it. 

Pack safely: 

Make sure you wrap glass, china, and kitchen knives up safely, so they don't get smashed and/or poke through the side of boxes and cause injury.

And safely store cleaning products, paint, and other chemicals to prevent spillage. 

Dress for the occasions:

We probably don’t need to tell you that high heels are inappropriate footwear for moving house, but you’d be surprised.

Open-toed shoes and sandals might be good to keep your feet cool and comfortable in hot weather.

But even if they’re flat-soled, they’re a foot injury waiting to happen when you're moving house where things are real potential to drop on your feet.

Gloves to protect your hands are a good idea too. Plus, don’t wear anything with free-flowing fabric or tassels that could get caught and cause a trip or fall. 

Take Extra Care:

To prevent injury or the exacerbation of existing pain conditions and underlying health issues, it's important to look after yourself before, during, and after moving day.

Try to reduce stress where possible, eat well, sleep well, and stay hydrated. It might sound simple, but all these things can help keep your body supple and resilient instead of fatigued and susceptible to injury.

If you are doing a lot of the lifting yourself, remember to follow good lifting techniques like bending at the knees instead of through your back. If you feel tired, stop, and have a rest. Don’t push through and risk injury. It’s not worth it. 

Moving Forward

It's a new chapter in our lives moving to a new community, we can't wait to see some familiar faces and some new ones too! 

Moving should be exciting, onwards and upwards.

Happy New Home! Take good care of yourself.

We look forward to welcoming you to the new Apex Orthopedic Rehabilitation clinic soon, too, if you do decide to come along to one of our free Discovery Sessions.