Let’s say riding a bike (or insert any exercise/movement) hurts your back.
There are two main ways to approach this problem:
- Riding a bike is what caused the back to hurt. The activity is blamed for the pain, so the strategy is to stop doing the activity to feel better.
- The body you are doing the activity with can’t function which is why that activity hurts. Improve how that body functions and the activity won’t hurt anymore.
These are two vastly different approaches with entirely different strategies and outcomes.
The first approach blames the activity for the pain.
The second approaches views how the body moves as the problem.
The first approach tends to lead people to think movement should be avoided, movement is harmful, and movement is bad.
The second approach leads people to look at what needs to be improved with their movement so their body can do any activity they love.
I break down these polarizing approaches to help answer a question we get asked on a daily basis, “Do I need to stop working out to do your online movement program?”
The simplest answer is no – because I don’t believe whatever workout you are doing is the problem. I believe the body you are bringing into the activity isn’t functioning which is why you are experiencing pain.
Instead blaming the activity or removing the activity altogether, restore and add function to the body you are bringing into that activity.
Improve how the muscles work.
Increase the ability for the right and left side of your body to work better together.
Boost range of motion.
Enhance stability.
Continue doing what you love to do – I don’t want you to ever stop that.
If you notice an activity or movement is painful, get started with The Pain Assessment Toolkit. We use 6 simple assessments to help you see what is or isn’t happening when you move.
This will help you understand how your body is functioning.
Then, enroll in The Movement Program to learn how to add simple movement routines into your life. As function is restored, notice how movement gets easier over time and how the body feels better doing more of whatever activity you love doing.
Click here to learn more about our online programs and how they can help you change your life.