Get Smarter With Age

[Guest]

by Karen Napierala, PT, AT, MS, CAFS

“Do as I say, not as I do."

Have you ever tried using that line with your kids?  Heard it from your parents? 

I think that the way we all know if someone really believes in something is if they incorporate it into their daily lives.  For instance:

I really believe smoking is bad. So I don’t do it.

I believe in exercise. So I do it often.

I believe in functional exercise. So that is the way I train my body.

I believe in a strong work ethic. So I work hard.

I PREACH TO PATIENTS they should listen to their body’s whispers to back off and not work through pain... BUT do I just say that is a good philosophy for patients, or

DO I LIVE IT?

When I was in college, I joined track in between studying for my Athletic Training degree. I first ran the mile in 5:05. My coach said that wasn’t fast enough. (For whom, I wonder?) He said that I need to run the 2-mile instead. After calculating the amount of extra time I would be in pain during that run, I reluctantly said I would. I turned out to actually be pretty good.

My trial time after the first meet qualified me for Sectionals, and by the 4^th meet I was within range of Regionals. I was hooked. You know the feeling if you’ve run before or found something that comes with ease. It’s ADDICTING. Consuming at times, but thrilling.

By the time I was to race at Regionals in Vermont, I had a nagging pain in my shin. Within the weeks to follow, I was diagnosed with a stress fracture. By the time I was 24, I had 4 stress fractures and a chronic sacro-iliac dysfunction (spine-pelvis junction area).

If only I would have listened to my body telling me to decrease my distance, my intensity, or cross train so that I wasn’t working through pain constantly. If only. Maybe I would be able to run today.

If only... If only I really believed that philosophy enough to follow it myself.

Many of you are in the same boat. You’re concerned about the run or game this week, and not the impact of your injury in a decade to come. I was too. I had many friends that could run farther, train more, and never had any pain. It didn’t seem fair that I couldn’t do what I wanted to do. NOW.    

I tried strengthening in appropriate ways. Stretching. Foot orthotics. All of these things work for many of our patients…not me.  I was born with a body that has limitations.  When I stay within them, I feel good. 

My reality is that those boundaries include running.

Learn from my mistakes.  It’s taken a long time for me to accept and learn that those little aches and pains mean something. I’m learning to listen better to my body but sometimes I still fight it. When I listen I feel good, when I don’t…well, I pay a price with pain and limited function for a few days or a week. 

BE SMART! 

I believe you need to accept and respect when your body gives you warning signs... so I’m learning to back off and slow down sometimes. 

Do you believe it? Your health and happiness depend to a great degree on that. 

I hope you’re listening to your body!