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January 4, 2008

Moving Muscles

There is nothing like packing to remind a body of what muscles it forgot it had. My husband and I had been packing and stacking boxes in anticipation of our move last week. At the end of the day, I would feel tired in my ankles. At night we would collapse into bed feeling tired in our middle back and intercostal muscles. Amazingly, a good night's sleep and we would wake refreshed and ready for the next day. However, we both felt the muscles in our thighs and gluteal muscles and that discomfort lasted for a couple of days.

We discussed what a great idea this topic would be for a blog post while our movers started loading boxes into the truck. They had their own catalog of sore muscles to share. Most significantly for them were the shrugging muscles in the tops of the shoulders. I figure there was both levator scapula and trapezius muscle involvement, not to mention scalene muscles for good measure, though those usually assist more with breathing.

Without talking to them the next day, I can only imagine the muscle soreness the movers developed after 10 hours of carting furniture and boxes (130 to be exact) into a truck and up a flight of stairs. After a certain point in life, when we've acquired way too much stuff, I consider the services of a moving company money well spent.

I am now in the process of sorting through my possessions and parting with what I don't need. There are practical benefits along with psychological liberation that comes with lightening our load in the world.

tags: massage massagetherapy wellness massage therapy bodywork health

Posted by linda at January 4, 2008 8:21 AM