When you have pain or injury without an obvious cause.
Have you ever experienced an injury or pain but couldn’t pinpoint what had caused it? As Physiotherapists who value looking at the whole picture with our clients, we endeavour to investigate the factors that lead to ongoing pain, when the cause is not obvious.
The truth is that there are many factors that you may not realise that contribute to the sensitivity or tolerance of your body to load. Injury and pain are not always caused by a physical trauma, such as rolling your ankle, a fall, or lifting a heavy box. Often it is a mix of several elements that can contribute to pain.
Think of yourself as an empty cup. There are many influences that can add water (load) to your cup. When your cup is full, you are at increased risk of experiencing pain or injury. Some factors that can add water to your cup include:
Stress. Our lives are busy. Being busy causes us to be in fight or flight mode way too often. This increases cortisol in our body, which can have an inflammatory effect on our body, affect our vitamin and mineral use (and create deficiencies) and alter our hormone production (especially estrogen in women that can affect the integrity of our connective tissues and tendons)
Poor sleep. Sleep restores our body. If we do not get enough sleep, our tolerance to load is reduced. Remember that sleep deprivation is a form of torture- it is truly so important to prioritise getting rest each night.
Poor nutrition. You are what you eat. If you do not include foods that nurture your body, you will not have the nutrients required for strong muscle contraction, healthy blood flow, lubrication of your joints and co-ordination for balance. Be aware that in times of increased stress or in recovery from injury, your body’s demand for nutrients increases!
Increased weight. Being a healthy weight will physically reduce the load on your joints, as well as reduce systemic inflammation.
A change in daily movement. A sudden increase in physical demand such as taking on a new sport, or training regime, or a significant reduction in movement such as lockdown during COVID.
The awesome news is that while these aspects can contribute to an overflowing cup (and hence pain!), by just focusing on improving one or two of the contributing factors, you can reduce the water volume and avoid the pain barrier.
Making healthy changes can feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. If you have ongoing pain or frequent injuries that seem to happen on their own accord, we can help.
Call the studio on 07 5337 9853 for more information, or book online.