We all know that exercising on a regular basis is good for us.
The basic four of: Cardio, Strength, Flexibility, and Balance are the core elements of a well rounded physical exercise program.
(There are many ways to accomplish these requirements and will be discussed in another blog.)
What I would like to tell you about today is what you need to be able to perform at your optimum level without restricting your activities due to pain or loss of motion.
I am lucky that I have been able to help people who have had limited function due to pain and therefore were looking for solutions to their problems when they saw me.
Most of the time I was able to restore their function and they were able to return to full capacity with the correct and appropriate procedures.
At times this was not possible. Usually it was because they had suppressed their problem with either pain pills or attempting to push through the pain and “work through it” for an extended period of time, literally wearing out the joint.
My approach has always been to find and fix the problem. I never recommended that someone “tough it out” or “push through it.” Pain serves the purpose of warning us when something is not right. When you’re in pain and continue with activities that aggravate it, you are not only most likely inflicting more damage, but you are also getting no benefit from overriding the pain signal. In fact, you are probably causing further damage and degenerating the joint.
The bottom line is that you will pay the price if you don’t respect and listen to your body.
Taking the time to listen to your body and taking the right approach to correct a problem is the natural and right thing to do.
If whatever you’re doing is not going to fix the problem, then stop doing what inevitably will only make it worse.