Sadly, most people that come to see me for the first time show up with some form of pain. Low back, sciatica, neck pain, shoulder pain, etc…
I say sadly because here is a little secret for you…it doesn’t need to be that way.
We tend to be a nation of reactors instead of proactors … if that makes any sense!
Please allow me to explain.
When someone tells me they through their back out tying their shoe, they are often incredulous that something so routine could be causing them this much pain. As I listen, I smile, nod, empathize and then with varying degrees of success, attempt to explain to them that the act of tying their shoe really wasn’t what threw their back out.
When we do something as innocuous as tying our shoe and our back goes out; causing extreme pain, the act of tying the shoe was simply the final straw.
In the absence of trauma, it is almost never the final act that causes the pain that you are feeling. The pain is usually something that has been building up for some time. How we are sitting, sleeping, the stress we are under and even the food we are or are not eating all goes into the pot. What comes out the other side of that is often a stressed out body and brain that has little room for error.
Hence, the simple act of bending over to tie one’s shoe throws your back out and causes you we wear nothing but Crocs for the rest of your days, and that is the real tragedy!
As I tell people in my office, it is much easier to stay ahead of things than to always be catching up to them. Please pay attention to the little things like taking a break from the computer, drinking plenty of water, and even exercising a little bit everyday.
If you follow my advice, the next time you come in my office it will be for a checkup and not because you threw your back out getting the water from the fridge!
