This helpful blog post comes from Dr. Joe Olofsson at Olo Physical Therapy and Wellness.
Every summer I start to hear it:
“My shoulder has been feeling tight lately…”
“My achilles flared up again after that run last weekend…”
“My knee’s acting up and I didn’t even do anything different…”
Actually—you probably did do something different. And that’s kind of the point.
Summer Can Sneak Up On You
Summer Can Sneak Up On YouMore daylight, more steps, more workouts, more yardwork, more everything. The change often feels good at first, but somewhere around mid-July, your body starts giving you little signals that it’s not quite keeping up.
It’s not just you.
The heat, humidity, and pace of summer life can start to push tissues past their tipping point, especially if you’re active and don’t have a consistent rhythm to your training.
Overuse Injuries Don’t Start with a Bang
They build slowly. A little extra volume here, a missed recovery day there. Before you know it, the shoulder you used to ignore becomes something you can’t.
And in the summer, they tend to stack up faster. Why? Because:
*You’re doing more volume across the board.
*You’re sweating more (but maybe not rehydrating enough)
*You’re sitting in cars, planes, or folding chairs between big efforts
*You’re less consistent with warm-ups and cooldowns
*You’re not always tracking load like you do in the gym
Your tissues feel it.
Hydration and Tissue Health Are More Connected Than You Think
When you’re even mildly dehydrated, your tendons and muscles lose some of their natural elasticity. That means you’re more prone to feeling stiff, tight, or sore, especially after a workout. Tendon pain (like in the Achilles, patellar tendon, or shoulder) often kicks up in the summer, and hydration plays a surprisingly big role in that. Not to mention fatigue, which affects how well you move and absorb load.
Five Summer Strategies to Stay Moving Without Breaking Down
These are the same reminders I give clients in the clinic:
#1. Ease into volume
If you’re running more, lifting more, or playing more, that’ wonderful. Just don’t go from zero to double. Try to increase volume by no more than 10% per week.
#2. Do your maintenance work (especially now)
Tendons love slow, controlled movements.
A few sets of:
*Calf raises (slow on the way down)
*Wall sits or Spanish squats
*Shoulder blade work (band Y’s, prone rows)
Can go a long way toward keeping you out of trouble.
#3. Drink more than feels necessary
Start with half your bodyweight in ounces of water per day. Then add 16–20 oz per hour of outdoor activity in the heat. It matters.
CHECK OUT THIS WRITE UP ON ALL THINGS HYDRATION.
#4. Pay attention to “different”
Some soreness is fine. But if a body part suddenly feels “off” and stays that way for more than a few days, don’t ignore it. The earlier you address it, the easier it is to resolve.
#5. Recover like it’s part of your training (because it is)
Mobility work, nutrition, sleep, and active rest days count. Summer recovery often gets skipped, but it’s just as important.
CHECK OUT THIS WRITE UP ON ALL THINGS MOBILITY WORK.
The Bottom Line
You don’t have to stop moving. But you may need to start listening. If something’s been bugging you lately and you’re not sure if it’s worth addressing, it probably is.
The sooner we catch it, the less it takes to fix.
At OLO Physical Therapy and Wellness, we help active adults around Ann Arbor move better, train smarter, and feel like themselves again, without needing to give up the things they love. Whether it’s creating a customized recovery plan, addressing pain with strength work, or integrating tools like dry needling or cupping to calm irritated tissues, we’re here for it.
Reach out if you want to troubleshoot a nagging issue, or just get a movement screen to see what your body might be trying to tell you.
Stay cool and keep moving,
Joe
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NEXT UP: ELBOW PAIN RUINING YOUR WORKOUT? HERE’S HOW TO FIX IT.
