I want to talk to you about the truth about pain and really help you come to understand how it formed, where it came from, and then what to do about it. A lot of times, we wake up and all of a sudden our shoulder hurts, our back is thrown out. Plantar fasciitis showed up overnight. We say, “I didn’t do anything yesterday, or really even this week. I don’t know where this came from!”
Insight 1: it’s more along the lines of the straw that broke the camel’s back, as opposed to ‘what did I do yesterday to cause this?’. We overload our bodies with repetitive patterns and wonder why things go awry. Ok that was wordy…we sit at desks all day with our shoulders rolled forward and our pelvis (ass and low back) in a mostly unnatural position–day in and day out–and then we wonder why our body complains! Okay, I’m not mad at ya’ll, I do the exact same thing, and I do this for a living.
Don’t get discouraged but…
…it can be as basic as “I cross my right leg over my left more than my left over my right.” That’s going to create a very certain pattern in the body, and what happens over time, five, 10, 15 years is, that pattern adds up and our body can no longer maintain homeostasis—pain free— and that’s when it lets us know that something actually has been off for a while.
Before we fix it:
(ok I think I’m overdoing these photo jokes…)
If I could rewire our mind about pain in this one way… Well, a couple ways, but to start off. Pain is a signal—and it’s the tip of the iceburg. But it’s our friend! God that’s annoying to even write, but, it’s at least kind of true. It is a signal letting us know something is off, and the sooner we address it, the better off we are.
We fear pain; it’s an annoyance; it limits hat we want to do. It makes us feel old. We often feel lost as to how to fix it. But if we can put it in its proper perspective, we can have a healthier relationship with pain. And that, as you’ll find later, is a key component to healing.
But for now, when it shows up we’re aggravated; we’re in a bad mood for the rest of the day. ‘Ugh I knew this would happen…’. We take it out on our loved ones or our coworkers, whatever it might be. If we can say, “Oh, my body is giving me a signal. What do we need to do about it?” We may, one day, actually thank it, and move on.
Now let’s fix that shit
Here’s the secret: Whatever hurts, stretch the opposite muscle. Your hip hurts? Stretch your inner thigh. Your low back hurts? Stretch your abdominal wall (and 7 other things…Hey the low back is a complicated lover, it takes time to unlock!). The antagonist (opposite muscle) is almost always one of the main culprits to your pain. Address that first, and you’ll most likely already feel a notable degree of relief.
Here are the other key things to stretch based on your pain symptom: but first this 😉
Neck Pain: Stretch your Pecs
Front shoulder Pain: Stretch your posterior delts (back of the shoulder)
Knee Pain: Stretch your Hamstring
Low Back Pain: Stretch your quads, and hamstrings, strengthen core
Calf Cramps: Stretch your soleus
Outer Hip Pain: Stretch Inner Thighs
80% of the pain you experience can be fixed….on your own! It just takes the right stretches, the right exercises, in the right order. That’s why I created this–you have my 15+ years of expertise for less than $1/day. And be encouraged, almost 100% of your pain can be fixed with the right practitioner/methodology. The only reason I say ‘almost’ is due to structural issues: bone-on-bone, internal health issues that may affect nerves, etc.
Oh man, now I’m talking so much you’re missing those cheesy photos :-p
Alright I’ll leave it at that for pain, for today. There’s so much more to learn and apply but we’ll do it in pieces.
Live Life Well,
Trainer Jeff
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