I never do ........ again because I'm hurting
So many people stop certain activities because they have pain
"I will never squat again because I have a meniscus tear".
I hear this all the time.
Too many people give up what they love to do, and that is not always needed.
How could we handle these situations better?
- First we need to explain to the patient/client that pain and injurt rarely have one causes.
Typically many things affect pain: Lack of sleep, poor diet, stress, anxiety, poor load management of exercises, lack of sufficient recovery, and more. These things are often overlooked, but are important to review and address if needed - The bottomline is that injuries happen we our "demands" exceed our "capacity".
So we need explain this to our patients/clients and see where we can make a change:- Maybe a temporary reduction in certain exercises
- Maybe improving mobilty, exercise form
- Maybe education on recovery and load management
- But rarely should the answer be to "never do this again".
Education and Graded exposure can solve many issues and keep patients/clients doing what they love to do.