Don’t let minor issues turn into major ones.
My football coach used to say, “Are you hurt, or are you hurting?”
The concept he tried to teach me and my teammates was that you have to learn how to function with pain, soreness, tightness, and aches. Football, and life in general, is a grind on your body. Your body accumulates damage over time, but you have to push through the difficulties and keep moving forward. In most situations, your body can heal and resolve the injuries you sustain on its own with rest, nutrition, time, and movement.
This lesson is something I understood as a player, but have forgotten over time. I use a tweaked ankle as an excuse to sit down all day or to avoid using the stairs. My elbow has a pain point from sitting at the computer all day, so I choose to not workout or pick up my kids. I use the excuse that I’m “letting it rest.”
The reality is that I use the “resting” excuse to run away from doing hard things. I turn a minor problem into a major issue — at least in my mind. Rest doesn’t mean to do nothing. It means getting proper sleep and reducing the strain on the injured area. It’s part of the equation, not the entire solution.
By turning a minor issue into a major one, our minds restrict our bodies and its natural healing process. It’s how our mind works to prevent pain and discomfort. If it hurts, our mind tells our body to adapt to prevent it. This puts a mental restriction in place and changes how you move.
For instance, when you touch a hot cooking pot. After we touch it, we immediately withdraw our hand. Any time we cook after that, our brain tells us to avoid getting close because it will hurt. It hurt the first time, and we don't want that experience again. It’s the same reason why things we learn or are taught at a young age impact our movement in the future.
To be clear, an injury is a major issue. Broken bones, torn ligaments, surgeries, etc. — all are considered legitimate and major injuries.
But those are few and far between in our daily lives. They are even more rare with regular and intentional movement like workouts, stretching, and daily movement habits. We allow minor issues to snowball and become major injuries by not understanding the difference between “hurt” and “hurting.” The best time to fix a major injury is before it happens. When you are hurting, don’t stop all of your movement. Instead, figure out what is causing your pain or discomfort and intentionally get that area strengthened. This can prevent breaks, tears, and even surgery.
You might figure out what the problem is without needing an expert. There is so much information out there on how to do basic therapeutic exercises to strengthen common issues. Other times, you need an expert to help you investigate the root cause, alleviate the symptoms, and cultivate the skills needed to prevent it in the future. That’s where Dr. Samantha can help you.
If you have a pain point that is lingering and you don’t know where to start — or maybe you have a new one preventing you from living the way you want — schedule a discovery call with Dr. Samantha to get help.
