The Neighborhood is Going to Pot!

[Peak PT Administrator 0]

 

by Mike Napierala, PT, SCS, CSCS, FAFS

Have you ever heard that saying? Have you ever said that yourself...or thought that? 

What made you say that? Did you see people stop caring for their lawn?  Maybe it was lots of late night parties keeping the neighbors up beyond their bedtime, leaving them tired for the next day's work. Or could be litter piling up over time. More stuff piling up in the yard, maybe.

You all know what I mean though. Something just wasn’t right. There was a new “dysfunction” occurring in the neighborhood. What used to coexist happily and even work together was now not holding up its end of the bargain. Falling short of expectations…of responsibilities.

Your body can be the same way, you know.

Take Sam, for example. He had a hip replacement months ago. But as most hip replacements go, there were a bunch of years of not only pain but of progressive stiffness too. He lost a lot of the important range of motion he used to enjoy and then with it…strength too.

Now Sam didn’t realize it but he also had an old ankle sprain from decades ago that hadn’t fully recovered. It hadn’t hurt for a long time, so he felt like he was 100% recovered and never thought twice about it affecting him one bit. But then as his pain began resolving after this hip replacement and he began resuming not only his prior activities, but began getting even more active since the hip pain was now gone, he found himself doing more bending down and lifting things than he used to do.  

Just like the neighborhood your house is in, your body has lots of parts that have to coexist on the same street. When one part isn’t working properly, it can influence the whole thing. 

If one person isn’t taking good care of their home down the street, it can even lower your own property value, right? If your neighbor doesn’t take care of their leaves in the fall, you know exactly where they end up on that windy day in November…right in your front yard, on top of the green grass you just raked. 

You need everybody to “play nice” together for your body to function properly. Every body part has its own responsibilities. But just like if your neighbor decides not to take out his garbage for 4 weeks, it doesn’t just stink up his yard...it affects you too. Probably not inviting anyone over for a party. Probably no picnic dinners in the back yard on that warm sunny spring evening after work. Too smelly back there.  

His garbage “dysfunction” affects your space, your happiness, your performance. 

And so it is with your body.

For Sam, that’s where the “neighborhood going to pot” started taking its toll on his lower back. You see, Sam still didn’t have the bending ability at his post-op hip and when combined with the inability to bend at his ankle, the only way he could reach low was his lower back had to repetitively and excessively round…over and over and over.

And then, seemingly “out of the blue” (in his mind), came the pain in his back…and then down his leg. Sciatica. Ouch!

Sure, getting Sam feeling better required looking carefully at his motion and seeing where he was restricted at his back, doing some various manual therapy mobilization techniques to free him up and relieve his pain. Dealing with his local back symptoms were a top priority. But too often treatment stops there.

And whether that “stop” comes from a healthcare provider just going through the motions “routinely” with simple traditional exercises or treatments, or maybe just not having advanced skills or training, or whether that’s you as the injured person getting impatient, focusing on the immediacy of “feeling better,” it all risks the same thing….recurrence after recurrence. Worsening pain over time. More severe injury. More money, more time, more frustration, more disappointment.

Chasing symptoms around and limiting your focus to “feeling better” is a huge mistake. It’s a key first step but it can’t be the last. 

Sam was doomed from day one to be back in the clinic again someday for the same thing. But fortunately, trying the be the super sleuth detective-like PT that I’ve been taught to be, and relying on FUNCTION...the truths of how the body moves and how parts integrate with each other….just like a nice neighborhood where the lawns all look nice, the garbage goes out weekly, people help each other shovel or rake when needed, people are stopped talking to a friend down the street while on a walk…..there’s teamwork going on.  

And Sam’s lower back is so much happier now that his ankle motion was increased. And it’ll get even happier as he continues to restore that hip bending ability. In the meantime, now he understands why he’s got to modify and limit how he handles deeper or low tasks around his house and yard.  

How's your “neighborhood” doing?  

Don’t forget that so very often, a body part that’s hurting may not actually be the culprit. The real source of your smelly back yard might just be a lazy or forgetful “neighbor." Make sure you’re keeping your body tuned up and all parts working well. Your neighbors will appreciate it!