The Weekend Warrior

By Dr. Melanie Brown, DC, Mountain Life Clinic & Pure Life Clinic, For The Mountain Times

Mondays and Tuesdays are interesting days in a chiropractic clinic. They’re often filled with people who felt perfectly fine Friday and considerably less fine by Sunday night.

Maybe you spent all day gardening, hiked farther than you have all year, played a weekend tournament, hauled firewood, or decided to tackle a project that really should have taken two days.

Welcome to the Weekend Warrior Club.

I’m definitely a member.

A few years ago, I decided to put together a wooden swing set for my kids. It wasn’t particularly complicated, but once I got started, I was determined to finish it that day.

For hours I was bending, kneeling, reaching overhead, lifting lumber and holding my neck and body in awkward positions. At some point, a reasonable person would have looked at the remaining work and said, “I’ll finish this tomorrow.”

I kept going.

Eventually dusk arrived, along with biting midges that apparently viewed me as dinner. Did I stop? Of course not. I had a swing set to finish.

I paid for that decision. Not only did I have annoying bites that itched for what seemed like months, I also ended up with a very sore neck.

I hear some version of this story from patients all the time. They worked in the garden all weekend. They went on their first big hike of the summer. They played more games than usual or decided to move all the furniture themselves.

Often, the problem isn’t the activity itself. It’s the sudden jump in activity combined with hours of repetitive movement or sustained positions.

Our bodies adapt to what we regularly ask them to do. If Monday through Friday involves mostly sitting, driving, or working at a computer, suddenly asking your body for eight hours of physical labor on Saturday is a pretty dramatic change.

The answer isn’t to become less adventurous. It’s to prepare your body during the week for the life you want to live on the weekend.

Regular movement, stretching, and strengthening can make a huge difference. Walk, work on mobility and balance, and add strength training throughout the week. If you love hiking, walk hills. If gardening is your thing, strengthen your legs and core. These habits don’t just help you tackle weekend projects; regular physical activity supports cardiovascular health, strength, mobility, and overall health.

Regular chiropractic care can also be part of that maintenance. I sometimes compare it to maintaining your car. When a car’s alignment is off, the tires may wear unevenly and other components can be placed under additional stress. Our bodies aren’t cars, of course, but addressing joint restrictions, mobility problems, and muscle imbalances before they become bigger problems can help keep us moving and functioning well.

That doesn’t mean chiropractic care makes you injury-proof. Nothing does. It means paying attention to how your body is functioning, addressing problems when they arise, and maintaining the strength and mobility needed for the activities you enjoy.

And when tackling a big project, change positions, take breaks, hydrate, and consider spreading the work over two days.

Several years later, that swing set is ready for some TLC. Weekend Warrior Melanie looks at it and thinks, “I can knock that out Saturday.” Dr. Melanie says, “Maybe make it a two-day project.”

The garden, mountain, pickleball court ,and unfinished project will still be there tomorrow. Take care of your body during the week so it’s ready to enjoy the weekend.