Hello friends~
I’ve been hearing from friends and clients all week about neck and shoulder pain. Hip, knee, and back issues too. It could be that people are less active in winter, maybe sitting more, exercising less. While we’re all getting older every nan0-second, we don’t have to be sidelined with joint pain, or succumb to fear of movement when pain is sending nasty messages to the brain. Joint pain, and arthritis will affect almost everyone to some degree over age 50, and exercise is the best remedy for pain and stiffness..
The head bone is connected to the foot bone.
A fascinating phenomenon called cross-education explains neurological messaging between limbs that enable them to get stronger independently to help treat injuries, and to work together stronger in training.
Since bones, muscles, ligaments, and tendons in the body are all connected, and communicate with one another all the time when we’re moving, it means that we have to keep moving to alleviate pain and stay strong. The head bone is connected to the foot bone. Literally.
Decay. Harsh but true.
My son gave me the book Younger Next Year in 2005. I was a bit offended when he gave it to me – it seemed like he was saying, “hey mom you’re getting old”. Obviously I was, but it was so But that book has remained one of my most recommended books ever, thanks to my son. Younger Next Year For Women,which was published in 2019.
In the books the term “decay” is used to describe the process of aging. Harsh but true. We are organisms with a lifespan, so we do decay over time.
But the aches and pains that accompany aging don’t have to define us.
We can drastically slow the effects of aging with exercise and nutrition. And not it’s just about increasing longevity, but improving the quality of life. Not just the years of life, but the life in the years. Strength is the key to mitigating the effects of decay.
Movement is medicine.
A friend recently told me about terrible pain in the upper arm/shoulder. The diagnosis was cervical radiculopathy. which stems from the neck. The pain messaging to his brain makes him afraid to move his neck and arm. Since the neck is the cervical spine, it’s connected to all of the vertebrae, which are connected to everything else. So lack of, or limited movement in the neck affects the whole body. He got a neck brace so he can’t move his neck at all now.
A client said she was advised many years ago “never” to lift anything over head. She’s been afraid to move through range of motion overhead for a long time, so now she has less ability to use her shoulders, and has continued discomfort.
Another client told me about her shoulder pain. Her upper back tends to be kyphotic (rounded), so it would be advisable to train the upper back, specifically the scapular complex, the “wings, which support the shoulders.. But she was told “never” to move her arms in specific directions.
Movement is medicine. “Never” is bad advice, instilling fear, and impeding movement.
Pain is a message.
Many years ago I had stabbing pain in my shoulder, which turned out to be stemming from my neck. It was diagnosed radiculopathy, the compressed nerve in the cervical spine shooting down the arm. The pain was incessant, except when it was completely immobilized – which was just not an option I would consider. The treatment was months of really tough physical therapy, strength training, and mobilization. It included super hard manual manipulation and the gruesome sounding, dry needling, which I dreaded, but my shoulders are strong and mobile now.
Pain is a message. It initially tells the brain to stop movement. The next step is assess, and make a decision.
I won’t bore you with my hip, back, and knee injuries and therapies – suffice to say that treatments each took a long time. At certain points along the way I thought it was futile, and considered surgery – until the light began to glow at the end of that dark tunnel. It’s challenging to assess the pain message, then treat joint pain, but it’s worth it. Thanks to years of continuing therapeutic exercises and strength training, there has been no recurrence of pain.
It’s all connected.
The human body reminds me of these floppy rubber band toys!
No part of the body functions independently from any other part. It’s all connected.
The hips and glutes are the power center of the body, connected up to the cervical spine, enabling the shoulders and arms to function, and all the way down through the legs and feet.
The head bone is literally connected to the foot bone. Want to find out how to get all of the parts of your body communicating with one another, and get strong?
Check out Iron Ladies. Small group strength training for women. 9am Tuesdays and Thursdays at LEAKSFitness Asbury Park.
Starting March 5th. Max 6 members.
.
x
Polli
