Thursday, June 25, 2009
Back in the day, I used to play Ultimate 3 days a week on a year-round basis. It was, and still is, a passion of mine. But life got in the way of play, and for quite some time, I didn’t have the pleasure of playing like I used to.
But like most “weekend warriors”, I longed to get back “into the game”.
So after riding by the park one Saturday afternoon, observing a game in progress, and finding out the days they played – I resolved to begin again. The next step was to dig out the old bag of cleats and pertinent items. Finding everything was a small success in itself.
So I jumped in head first, 3 days a week, rain or shine. The result? Sore! Which slowly subsided as my muscles acclimated. But I got ankle and foot pain like never before, that would become excruciating and force me to stop sooner than I desired!
Be tough! Play through it! It will get better! Right? Hmmm, didn’t happen.
So I paid closer attention to my cleats. They were quality and had served me well for a long time. I had played on them for years, and literally had over 1,000 miles of Ultimate time in them. But in truth, they were worn out, lacking proper support, and even had a missing lug.
One practice with my new cleats and I can tell all is going to be well.
And the lesson?
I had never had that foot or ankle pain before, I was wearing the same cleats, I did not have an injury. So why the pain? Why now?
After a little pondering, I knew.
Because the body adapts very well to anything that happens to it slowly, and over time. The cleats didn’t wear out over-night, it took years, with the worst changes coming over the last several months when I used to play.
But now I hadn’t played in years, and my foot wasn’t “used” to that problem. So now it was easy for my body to “sense” what was wrong because it was immediately new and different, without months of gradual onset like it had been before.
And the same is true for all conditions, and all of our bodies. It’s easy to fall in the trap of ignoring the little things that aggravate us slowly over time, and to only pay attention to something “new” or “worse”. But that’s a definitive prescription for self destruction – because you’re really destroying yourself by not paying closer attention.
The worst thing you can do to yourself is to be “used to” a problem.
As a chiropractor I can help you pay attention to your health, your nerve system, and your frame in a way that will allow you to easily “sense” what is right or wrong again with your body.
And that gives you more power and control again over what happens to your health.
Dr. Brad Pennington
www.bradpennington.com
303-820-3336