Listen to your body – Avoid bigger problems later and Physiatrist – what the heck is that?

Most people fall into the following category of deny, deny, deny and ignore their issue because it will go away on it’s own.  I’m guilty of this too but I don’t let it go too long because I have to practice what I preach.

I do understand why everyone wants to ignore their issue.  It’s inconvenient, it will probably cost money, there is the chance you will be told to stop doing something you love, and what if surgery is recommended.  Oh my gosh!  When I talk with people that have some orthopedic problems and it’s impacting their workouts, I often hear they don’t want to go see someone because they are afraid they will be told they can’t run/swim/bike, or whatever their activity is.  Ironically, they usually aren’t doing much of the activity anyway or not very well because of their injury or issue. 

Hmmmm, they won’t go see anyone because they are afraid they will be told not to do an activity.  They aren’t currently doing the activity because it hurts.  Anyone else see the logic in this?  I’ve lost count how many people I talk to that do this.

Here’s my thoughts, ok warning, I might be getting on my soap box, because I say this so often to people.  When something starts hurting or going wrong, you first try and figure it out yourself.  If you are an active person you should be able to tell the difference between muscle soreness and a pain that shouldn’t be there.  I would take maybe 2-3 weeks on my own to figure it out unless the pain is so bad it stops you from doing the activity.  I want to caution from taking months before getting a doctors opinion.

At the very least go find out what is causing the problem!  Often if you wait a long time it’s much harder to recover from whatever the problem is and you may cause more damage that can’t be fixed.  So, go find out what the problem is!  I have two doctors that are my first go to when something comes up.  90% of the time they tell me what the problem is and then help it get better.  It’s rare they tell me to stop running, biking or swimming.  They may tell me to back off for a day or two, but they treat lots of athletes and totally understand about time lost from training as well as getting them back to full activity safely. I go see them at the early sign of any problem, plantar fasciitis, shoulder issues, hamstring and glute issues, my list is long.  All of these could have caused major down time and other problems but most were taken care of by doing my homework of stretches and preventive exercises and a couple of weeks seeing them for ART or whatever therapy they prescribed for me.

It’s a lot less time, money and pain in the long run than if I’d waited until things were really bad.  I always listen to what they say and do what they say, even if I feel better and feel like I can do more.  They have their reasons for backing you off a bit, sometimes things have to calm down or heal and you may feel better, but if you continue at the same level you’ll just make it worse and take longer to recover.

My take away is find out what the problem is, what treatment options there are, what if you don’t treat it, and make an educated decision on what your game plan is.  If you don’t treat it odds are you are going to be in pain during your activity, you’ll make it worse in the long run, your body will compensate in other ways causing other problems.  Nothing good will come from this.

If you teat it quickly, most likely the time spent in treatment is shorter and it doesn’t have to impact your training, competitions or daily activities.  Ok, along these same lines, I have developed a network of different doctors and massage therapists I use depending on what issues I may have.

I am fortunate working as a Personal Trainer and Fitness Director I learn a lot about different avenues and ways of treating orthopedic issues.  What works and what doesn’t.  It’s amazing what’s available but how is the general public supposed to know about any of this?  That is so unfortunate and frustrating 

After my hip replacement, over 4 ½ years ago, the range of motion in my right hip was never that great no matter how much I worked on it.  I’d reach a point in stretching or activities and it wouldn’t go any farther and there was some pain.  I thought that maybe it was the prosthetic or something and that’s just he way it was.  It didn’t stop me from doing anything but it made it difficult to do deeper squats or get a better aero position on my bike.  One of my Physical Therapist friends recommended I talk to someone he works with, a Physiatrist.  I’d never heard of one before.

Here is a link to explain what they do: http://www.lvhn.org/our_services/key_support_services/rehabilitation_services/5_things_you_should_know_about_physiatrists

They work as part of a team, with orthopedic doctors and physical therapists for people who have movement problems or pain in their joint, doesn’t matter if it’s from an injury or arthritis.  I made an appointment.

I met with her and she evaluated my range of motion in my right hip.  She then did an ultrasound on my right hip.   This is not my ultrasound picture but I was able to see mine and watch everything she did, fascinating!

She could see that there was some Bursa sacs (cushions the joint, holds synovial fluid, when inflamed is called Bursitis) that were inflamed and she saw some scar tissue as well.  She then injected the inflamed bursa sacs, I think with a saline solution, and was able to break up some of the scar tissue with the needle.  I followed up with some deep ART to further break up the scar tissue with another doctor for a few weeks.

Now my right hip is awesome!  No more mobility restrictions and no pain!  I’d had the pain and restriction since the surgery so about 4 years.  If my friend hadn’t mentioned it I would never have known about a Physiatrist and this treatment.  This goes back to what I say over and over.  Ask questions and ask everyone, never stop asking.

I look at it as what do you have to loose?  Once I was told about a Physiatrist, what were my options..  If you don’t go, nothing changes.  If you go, nothing changes, or, something helps.  If you can’t afford it or your health insurance doesn’t cover it that’s another issue.  I will say, you need to make your health a priority.  When you get older you will want to be able to move as best you can.  What you do now will affect that. 

Trust me as you get older it doesn’t get easier.  Your joints won’t always work as well as they do now or recover from activities as well as they do now.  It really doesn’t take that much, but it is a big mind shift for most people.  I see it all the time.

I have a client that is extremely tight and is an athlete.  He doesn’t include stretching and he’s starting to get issues in his joints from always being so tight.  He wants a fix overnight.  He didn’t get this way overnight so you can’t undo it overnight.  He needs to do some consistent stretching throughout his week and get a deep tissue massage if not some ART to relieve things quicker.  So far his choice is to do nothing, which is severely limiting his activities.  Running, biking and rowing are very painful and swimming is not one of his favorite things to do.  I’m waiting for the light to come on, he can get back his mobility and be pain free, but as with everything it doesn’t come without doing some work.  Nothing in life is free.

For me it seems so simple.  Ignore the problem and it will get bigger and eventually stop you from activities you love and may end up with a surgery you wouldn’t have had to get if you took care of the issue sooner.  Address the issue, find out what the problem is and deal with it before it becomes a bigger problem.  OK, I’ll get off my soapbox now.

Take care of yourselves!  That goes for your body and mind.  There is not a magic pill or overnight cure, I wish.  You get out of life what you put into it and you have to work for your rewards.  This applies to your body as well as most everything in life.