Learning to listen to the whispers of muscle and joint pain

Do you know anyone over 40 who hasn’t noticed a significant change in their body’s ability to bounce back?  Whether it’s from a glass of wine too many the night before, a new workout, long hours in the garden, or long hours sitting….we tend to get a few more aches than we used to and many of them stick around longer than seems necessary.  Most people think it’s just because we are getting older.  I disagree. I think it’s because we just aren’t listening.

Just the other day I was typing away on the computer.  I’d been sitting way too long and “my spot” started whispering to me.  We all have a “spot” and mine lives in a muscle just above my left shoulder blade.  It tells me when I’ve been sitting too long and it’s even smart enough to tell me when I’m stressed out.  When it starts to whisper to me I feel it, but depending on what I’m doing, I will either listen or ignore it.  When I choose the latter, it gets louder and louder and louder until whatever I’m doing becomes impossible to focus on.

I invited the ache in by ignoring the signs I know very well.  I was ready to get that sh*t done and nothing was going to stop me.  I’ve been told I can be a little stubborn. The joke was on me because in the end it took longer to get done and it didn’t turn out as good as it could have if I’d gotten rid of ‘the spot’ while it was still politely whispering.

This type of muscle and joint pain either comes from lack of preparation or lack of variety.  Many times we can easily prepare our bodies for the task by getting a little motion in the right places before going out for that run or playing our sport.  Other times, we just need to move in the opposite directions for a minute or two when “that spot” starts to whisper.

So what should I have done? Watch this quick video https://vimeo.com/178025809

When I’m smart this is what I do, the bonus is that the movement is not only good for my body, it’s good for my brain.  When I sit back down I inevitably have the answer to whatever I was struggling with.

Great answers can only come from great questions, so here’s one for you. If you don’t take care of your body like you take care everything else, where do you plan to live?