21 Random Thoughts.......

I'd like to share some of the things that I've learned after practicing physical therapy for the past 13 years.  They are in no particular order, nor is this an exhaustive list.  They're just a few of things that I find myself teaching people every day in the clinic. Or they are nuggets of information that I've picked of from experience and through reading and watching folks smarter than I.  Hopefully you'll find one or more helpful. 

1)  If you sit for most of the day, aim to stand up at least 3 times an hour.  If you can walk away from your desk for a minute, even better.

2)  With any exercise you're doing, check your alignment, posture and form.  Without these in check, your sets, reps and weight don't matter so much.

3)  If you feel the need to stretch a particular part of your body constantly, it may not be due to tight muscles or restricted joints.  There may be a reason that your muscle keeps going back to providing you tension after you've found temporary relief from stretching.  Do yourself a favor and find out why, or you'll be barking up the wrong tree indefinitely.

4)  Try to sleep on your back or side, if possible, for optimal spinal alignment.  Stomach sleeping forces you to hold your cervical (upper) spine in rotation in order to breath.  That's 6-8 hours of asymmetry a day that could take a toll on you.

5)  Movement and exercise opportunities are all around you every day.  "Exercise" does not have to involve an expensive gym membership and an allotted time.  Just keep moving, and your most valuable asset (you!) will keep serving you well into the future.  Take it for granted, and down the road it may only give back what you put in.

6)  If you want to help your balance, rather than standing on a wobble board or a BOSU, try taking your shoes off.  Allow all the rich proprioceptors to feel the floor.  If you were going to thread a needle, you wouldn't put thick gloves on, would you?

7)  If you ever experience plantar fasciitis (sharp pain on the undersurface of your foot primarily felt back by the heel), don't ignore your big toe.  You can roll out and stretch the undersurface of your foot and Achilles tendon all you want.  But if your big toe doesn't extend (bend upwards) well, then you may be missing something.

8)  Squat every day.

9)  Get down to and up from the floor every day.

10)  Have somebody take a picture of your full body in profile.  Musculoskeletal dysfunctions that are partly driven by poor posture can only be addressed by starting with awareness.  I see raised eyebrows every day when I show people their "before" pictures, which demonstrates their sense of "normal" posture.

11)  Pain is VERY complex and involves way more than tissue damage.  If it lasts more than 3 months (chronic), there's a great chance that more variables are at play.

12)  The most important thing that I can offer my patients is educating them and teaching them how to take control over their health situation.  It's not some modality that I "do" to them.  They play a part, but teaching folks how to optimize their healing environment and allowing time to do its thing matters more.  Empowering patients is the answer.

13)  If you ever experience pain in one of your limbs, know that the source might not be where you're feeling it.  You need to check the spine to rule it out first.  Otherwise, you may be futilely chasing pain and wasting your time.

14)  Don't ever be afraid to ask your healthcare providers questions.  Nobody is going to care about your health more than you.  Be your own biggest advocate.

15)  Be leery of the healthcare provider who seems to have an answer to everything.  It's impossible.  Rather, value those who are confident enough to say, "I don't know" but who get you an answer in a timely manner.

16)  If you're a runner, watch yourself do a single leg squat.  If your leg is wobbling all over the place and your knee is diving inward, you have some work to do if you want to make yourself a more efficient, less injury prone runner.

17)  MRIs shouldn't been the first stop when you're not feeling 100%.  If everyone with abnormal MRI readings was in some level of corresponding pain, I wouldn't say this.  But that just isn't the
case.

18)  In my field (and any, for that matter), there's really no excuse for not improving myself every day as a practitioner.  The barriers to learning are practically nonexistent with virtually everything accessible in the palm of our hands.

19)  There are no "magic bullet" solutions.  If you want meaningful, long lasting results, you've got to put in the effort.

20)  Beware of those who make declarations such as "Never do this" or "The best way to do that." (e.g., all the Crossfit haters out there).  The human mind and body are just too variable to speak in such absolutes.

21)  Life is too darn short.  Don't overthink everything.  There are many miles between caring and obsessing.  If you find yourself knocked off your plan, don't sweat it.  As long as you're pretty disciplined about your heath most of the time, you'll be alright. 

Again, random thoughts.  If you'd like any further explanation or clarification,  I'm happy to expand on any of the above.