“My Doctor Says I Have to Stop….”

How many times have you been a victim of this?

My doctor told me I have to stop running because of my knees

My doctor told me I have to give up golf because of my back

My doctor told me I have to stop lifting weights because of my shoulder

 

Let’s take a moment and imagine your favorite activity. For me personally, I love to lift weights and Crossfit. It’s one of the non-negotiable parts of my life that I love to do during the week. Everyone has something in their life in which they cherish as a normal part of their routine.

For you, it may be dancing, for someone else it may be a weekly round of golf. It may even be as simple as going for a walk with your spouse, or picking up your toddler grand kids.

When you think about some of the reasons that people go see a chiropractor, you’ll usually think about getting rid of back pain, neck pain, or some other spine related condition. The reality is that pain is not usually a strong enough motivator to visit a chiropractor. It’s much easier to take a pill to rid yourself of an ache, then to get the cause of the problem fully corrected. It’s usually when one of the non-negotiable parts of their lives is in jeopardy, that people pick up the phone and want to find answers.

Which brings me to an interesting point. I’m often consult with patients who have been to their doctor and said
“My doctor says I need to stop _____”

And that blank is filled with one of those special things that makes our lives worth living.

Getting Your Life Back

One of the happiest patients I ever took care of came to see me because of some intense low back pain that he began having after a day on the golf course. This is a guy who loved playing golf every weekend. It was his escape from the stress of his job and family life. He had gone about 2 months waiting for his back to get better, but it simply got worse. Everytime he tried to simulate a golf swing, he would go into a tail spin of pain. His doctor told him he had herniated discs in his back, and it was time to consider giving up golf for a while. He was referred into the office by a golf buddy, who told him that his atlas was probably causing his body to be off balance, and he needed to see me.

Now this was a guy who was as skeptical of Structural Correction, and how the gentle NUCCA correction was going to help him get his back better. Within 2 weeks, his hips were balanced and his pain began diminishing. After some counseling on movement mechanics and mobility, he was able to gently swing his golf club without pain for the first time in months. He was so happy that within a few weeks, he had sent in 5 more golfing weekend warriors to get their spine checked as well

Although I’m pretty well known in the community for helping people with chronic/difficult to treat conditions, my happiest patients are people who simply love to golf, run, and Crossfit. Why are they so thrilled? Because when they get hit by an injury, the first step of action from their doctor is to stop golfing, running, and crossfitting.

Image from fitnesspainfree.com

In my view, it’s my job to help the person restore their ability to do the things they love again, NOT to take those things away.

Are there times when someone might have to give up their golf clubs or their barbells? Sure. There are certainly injuries that are serious enough to force the issue.

However, I find most of the time, that recommendation comes much sooner than it should. Many of these times, it’s just a matter of restoring the body’s normal biomechanics, strengthening the foundation of their spine, and teaching the patient some new movement patterns to make their activities more safe and effective.

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