Pain. We’ve all had it. Injury pain. Inactivity pain (Hello, sitting at a desk all day). Overuse pain. Nagging pain. Throbbing pain. Sharp pain. The list goes on and on. It’s not fun. I’ve had my share of pain. Do you have pain? When talking about pain, we often talk about how it is entering, residing, or leaving the body. Is the pain because of an event, like a fall or accident? Is it something that has progressively gotten worse?
When I’m looking at someone who has come into Nimble for an assessment, I’m looking for their pain story. Some of that story a client will tell us when we are going over their health history, but another big portion is what the body is showing and telling. In the way someone stands, sits, and walks, as well as posture, flexibility and the way they move.
What I find so interesting is that no two stories are the same. And the same goes for people’s pain. Many people think that their back or knee pain is like their mom’s or their friend’s or some professional athlete. And while there are similarities, it’s so important for us to remain open to see what is behind this very specific situation. I love the exploration, looking for patterns, searching for answers and trying to find something that will help someone through to the other side of pain. That is, arguably, the most rewarding experiences being a trainer. And anyone who has been in pain, and has had ANYONE help them out of it, they are incredibly thankful- I know I have been.
After having a good snapshot of what is going on with someone’s body, next is trying to find what I like to call their “special sauce”. There are so many things that can into why someone has pain, but we like to start with the low hanging fruit…like water. Did you know that it is VERY common to see people with pain are also chronically dehydrated? Yep. We have literally seen improvements to people’s pain by just increasing their hydration.
Next, I want to see if there are any major imbalances that could contributing. For example, if a client’s hips are in a hemi-pelvis position, which is one hip rotated forward or back until the pelvis is back in alignment, loosening fascia or stretch other tight muscles probably won’t solve the problem…yet.
See how I said probably? That is the thing about our bodies and no two bodies being the same. There is no one formula for everyone. Yes, there are some guiding principles that we follow, but we also keep an open mind in how to find what the formula (secret sauce) is for your body!
I like to envision a hallway of locked doors. And each door you unlock may lead to where you are going, but maybe leads to another door or OPENS the opportunity to another door. Some people have just one door or lock to open, others have more. The journey there often tells us more of the story and help us create your secret sauce moving forward.
Maybe your secret sauce is loosening up some fascia with rolling out certain muscles. Maybe it has to do with an imbalance or a muscle that is way overactive (or inactive…Hello, glute medius). Is a muscle too weak or too strong? Are you ready to go on that journey? We are here to help, and if we can’t, we will refer you to someone who can.
Much love,
Jason
