I
don't know too many people that haven't thought these 5 words to
themselves as their body is balking at whatever they are doing: Bending
over to put your pants on (ouch, my back!), running (my foot is killing
me), sitting at work (my shoulders and neck), going up and down the
stairs (my knees...)....you know, normal life stuff.
It
seems we go into this denial state that our bodies are speaking to us
in this manner. "Oh, I'll be fine in a few days." Usually that few
days turns into a few weeks. A few weeks turns into a few more because
"I'm too busy to deal with it" while holding out hope that it will get
better.
Ignoring
these signals from your body can set you up for long term
consequences. Typically if the pain really hasn't gone away after a few
days to a week, it's best to get on top of it BEFORE your body has a
chance to create new compensatory patterns to avoid the pain. Think of
it as your body's way of getting back at you for failing to address the
"signals" it screamed at you for pushing through it.
Because...."maybe it will go away."
As
weeks go by, which suddenly turns to months, maybe....just maybe...you
decide to actually take action. The pain teases you for a day or so
pretending to be "better". NOPE. You attempt to try a do the thing
that angered it in the first place thinking all that rest should have
helped. The pain returns as if it never left.
Because..."maybe it will go away."
Believe
me, we are all guilty of this behavior. We literally go through the
stages of dealing with an injury. Shock, denial, anger, frustration,
acceptance and finally taking action because you are done dealing with
it. However by that time, your body has managed to re wire itself to
either work around the painful patterns or carefully attempt to work
through them. Your movements change and muscles tighten without your
conscious knowledge. All while leading to possibly creating new
problems....remember those long term consequences I mentioned earlier?
Why do we do this to ourselves?
Because...."maybe it will go away."
Jamie really made a difference in my life. "Maybe it will go away" is an appropriate phrase that I used for three years; this was compounded by orthopedists who insisted that it was just "normal aging"--"I wouldn't expect anything different for a person of your age." They offered cortisone shots....I declined.
ReplyDeleteJamie uses manual therapy, coupled with very specific exercises to practice. For me, it worked. I am living pain-free...as long as I do my exercises.
I appreciate Jamie's skill and optimism!