Joint pain…”Old Age” or simply Old Habits?
By Bobby Morrow
I've been doing Personal
Training professionally for 8 years now, and learned early on that nearly everyone, no matter their chronological
"age", brings some sort of
physical (either "health" or "structural") challenge
with them to fitness. Even if they came
in initially to "lose some weight", "gain more
energy", "feel better", "reduce stress" etc, in
many cases it’s those “oh, by the way” physical challenges that need to be
addressed first! For example,
if you have “knee, hip, or back issues” and your primary goal is to drop some
body fat, simply sticking you on the treadmill and cranking up the speed is not a smart way to start!!
Once I discover that a new
client has painful joint issues, I dig a little deeper to see if they had any
trauma to those areas like broken bones, sprains, tears, etc from accidents or
falls. Sometimes they will report that their Doctor has told them they have
knee ligament tears, or bulging discs, or arthritis which is also good for me
to know. However, I’m discovering that in many cases even those issues may just be symptoms
of something else that’s going on elsewhere in the body.
While educating myself over
the years on how to help these folks reach “their
goals” it quickly became clear that most of the painful joint issues we begin
experiencing shortly after leaving our teens are not due to “old age”, but rather can be attributed
to “old habits” or what I call
“lifestyle-created posture preferences”.
If you’ve ever noticed a teenager while
they’re texting (shoulders and back hunched over, head dropped forward and
down), then watch their posture when they stop texting and walk away you’ll
quickly realize that it’s not “old age” that’s causing many of our joint
issues!
In my opinion, as well as a high number of
other professionals in the field, our bodies tend to fold themselves into the
patterns that they find themselves in most
of the time during our day (no matter the persons age), creating these
“preferences”. In other words, if you
spend most of your day sitting at your desk (computer, car seat, recliner, etc)
your body tends to form a preference for that “sitting position”…knees bent,
hips flexed, chest dropped, shoulders and upper back rounded, arms rotated
inward…by shortening (and tightening) some muscles, ligaments, and other
tissues while at the same time lengthening (and weakening) others, making it
harder and harder over time to straighten into a full upright posture.
What is happening is that because
of our repeated daily habits, our posture is getting out of whack (most
efficient alignment) placing undue stresses across those joint areas creating irritation,
inflammation, soreness, and even pain when we finally do try to use them more than usual. Left unaddressed these issues could eventually lead to total
deterioration of the joint requiring surgery or even replacement.
So what can we do? Well,
working with a professional “Corrective Exercise Specialist” to help determine
which muscles are weak and need to be strengthened, and which are short and
tight that need to be released as well as teach
you effective exercises to allow your body to make these corrections more
permanent, can be very helpful. Most
CES’s are reasonably priced, require only a few sessions, and are definitely
cheaper and less painful than surgery!
However, there are a few
things you can begin doing right away
that may help get you back on track over
time (remember; if you spend 8-12 hours a day in a sitting position don’t
expect to counteract that with just a few minutes of exercises a day, especially if you go right
back into those positions the next day!):
(1) It seems like common
sense but try to “sit less”! Even if
your job “requires” you to be at a computer all day doesn’t mean you have to
sit the whole time. Stand up for 10 minutes every hour. Stand while you are on
the phone or sorting papers, files, etc. And as a bonus you will burn more calories
while standing than while seated.
(2) Walk over to see a
co-worker, rather than simply emailing, texting, or calling them (again, burns
a few more calories too).
(3) During lunch or other
breaks walk around a little and really loosen up those muscles.
(4) While standing (or
seated) do some “rearward arm circles “ (with arms straight out to the sides at
shoulder height, circle your arms rearward pulling with your back and shoulder
muscles, then relaxing as you circle forward…do 10-12 circles) these are great
for releasing those tight shoulder and neck stresses too.
(5) Rather than sitting in
the recliner while watching your favorite shows, stretch out on the floor for a
while, and during commercials actually “stretch” out your muscles (reaching
over your head while pushing your heels away).
Even if you are not able to totally
reverse all damage through exercise and better posture, there’s a very good
chance you can reduce or eliminate the related pain, prevent further damage, and
keep yourself out of surgery for many years to come.
Bobby Morrow is an ACE Certified Personal
Trainer & Corrective Exercise Specialist
