The holidays feel great at the moment, don't they? Food, travel, events, late nights, and friends and family time feel great after working hard all year.

The problem is: pain and stiffness often come afterward.

After the holidays, your body often feels tighter, puffier, and way more uncomfortable than it should.

That “post-holiday slump” reflects a serious lack of balance.

Holiday excess isn’t just about overindulgence. It’s the cumulative effect of:

• More sitting
• More lifting and twisting
• More travel
• Less sleep
• More stress
• Less consistent movement

When these things stack up, your muscles tighten, your joints compress, and your nervous system feels stuck in stress mode.

Here’s what I see in patients every December and January:

Muscles get tight and sticky.

All that sitting on planes, long drives, cooking, wrapping, sleeping in guest beds—your fascia reacts by clamping down. Everything starts feeling stiff.

Joints feel compressed.

Less movement and more sitting mean more pressure on spinal joints. That shows up as:

• Low back tightness
• Mid-back stiffness
• Neck pain
• Headaches

Digestion slows down.

Richer foods and less fiber mean more stress on your body. Your gut and your spine communicate, so when one’s off, the other often follows.

Stress piles up.

Your shoulders rise up to your ears and… they stay there.

Old injuries flare.

Holiday habits change how you move. Old strains and old patterns show up again.

What happens if you ignore it?

If you try to power through January, it can snowball into:

• Chronic tightness
• Flare-ups of old injuries
• Decreased mobility
• Fatigue
• Pain becoming your new baseline
• Avoiding activities you love

No one wants to start the new year in a body that feels older than it is.

But you don't have to worry all that much if you take a little action to keep things moving in the right direction. 

Your body is just responding to stress, travel, food changes, sleep changes, and extra responsibilities. It’s normal—and fixable.

What can you do to counter-balance holiday excesses?

It's actually pretty easy to take care of yourself during the holidays. You don't have to keep up your normal routine, but you should add some of these little habits to all the fun:

Move more than you think you need to.

If you’ve been sitting more, lifting awkward bags, hosting family, or stuck in holiday traffic, your body is craving gentle movement.

Walking, simple hip mobility, and a few minutes of stretching help your joints decompress and your muscles breathe again.

Start with your fascia first.

If you’re feeling tight, heavy, or stiff, that’s your fascia talking.

Slow foam rolling, ball work under the glutes or pecs, and long chest stretches help “unstick” everything. Take just a little bit of time to help your body move more freely.

Reset your core—gently.

After the holidays, your body isn’t excited about crunches or planks.

Try easy breathing drills, pelvic tilts, or marching bridges. These help your spine reset and reduce that low-back compression.

Hydrate well.

Holiday food, drinks, and travel dehydrate the tissues. Hydration helps your muscles soften, so you feel less tight and sore.

Get to bed earlier when you can.

The late nights, travel schedules, and hosting fatigue all add up. Getting enough sleep helps your nervous system calm down and recover.

Reduce inflammation in simple ways.

Warm lemon water, ginger tea, light meals, and post-meal walks all help. These little habits all rebalance digestion and calm the inflammation that’s affecting your spine.

Chiropractic and soft tissue work also help the body reset.

Sometimes you had no time for anything except eating, drinking, and being merry with friends and family. That's okay. We can help.

Deep myofascial and soft tissue work can offer a lot of release.

I love this part of my work.

I tend to use a lot of targeted, hands-on techniques to release the thick holiday tension people walk in with.

After the holidays, I spend a lot of time:

• Breaking up adhesions
• Easing tight fascia
• Helping the nervous system chill out so the adjustment goes smoother

Targeted adjustments that fit your personal needs can relieve your pain and discomfort.

Whether you’re:

• A manual laborer whose body is already taxed from physical work and now feels extra stiff from the holidays
• A tech professional who sat even more than usual during travel, events, and downtime
• An active senior who needs gentle, confidence-building movement and relief
• A parent or caregiver who lifted kids, cooked nonstop, or hosted guests

… I can tailor your adjustment to what your body needs that day.

Patients often tell me they feel lighter, more mobile, and finally able to take a deep breath again. That's the outcome I'm looking for: an adjustment that matches their body’s tension and patterns.

Is your body feeling the impact of the holidays? Come in for a reset.

We can loosen things up, get your joints moving again, and help you feel more comfortable, mobile, and ready for the new year.

Book online anytime. We’re here for you in Aptos.