It’s my last day at Absolute Health Chiropractic. I’ve been here for a year and this will be my 15th blog. I’ll be handing the reigns over to Meghan, who will give you a new perspective on things as she is a yoga instructor. I wanted to throw out some quick thoughts on things I’ve learned during my time here.
1. Start now. Don’t wait until later.
Whether it’s being pain-free, preventative care, getting fit, or other personal goals, you should get started right away. You’ll only achieve less and make it harder by putting it off. I see so many people come through here, determined to reach their goals only to put it off until later because of some reason. Although they took the hardest step in just getting started, they couldn’t follow through and don’t usually make it back. Which brings me to my next thought.
2. Once you get to it, stick to it.
It’s not just the first day that’s the toughest, it’s the first 3 weeks. It takes a while to develop a new routine and become accustomed to it. If you start and stop something, it becomes even harder to get started again. Don’t lose the progress you’ve gained just to start back at square one again.
3. Dr. Cait can help you.
Since I’ve been here, I’ve seen a lot of people come through with back and neck pain and then leave feeling much better. I always ask people how they are doing after an adjustment, and I always hear, “Now I feel good”. I especially notice a big change in the patients who make it into maintenance care. They don’t just feel good after the adjustment, they come in feeling good. They have monthly adjustments to make sure they stay feeling great.
4. You still have homework.
A big part of what we do at Absolute Health Chiropractic is teaching our patients effective strategies to change what caused their condition in the first place. Sometimes it is adjusting how you sleep, or adjusting your footwear, doing exercises or changing your work station.
5. Active care.
I think everyone needs active care. People need it for different reasons though. I’m going to do a list inside of a list now. Some people need all of these, some people just need one or two.
A. Work on your tissue density. If a tissue is dense, it won’t move well.
B. Work on your flexibility. If a muscle is short, it won’t move well.
C. Work on your mobility. If a joint isn’t mobile, it doesn’t move well, and something else will move instead when it shouldn’t. Tissue Density and Flexibility are a part of Mobility.
D. Work on your activation. Make sure the correct muscles actually work when you try to use them.
E. Work on your strength. If you don’t have adequate strength your body will compensate somehow if it can.
F. Even out those asymmetries. If one side of your body works different than the other, you’ll probably have some sort of pain or dysfunction. You can have asymmetries in any of the first 5 categories.
I’ll be working full-time at the Bay Club as a Personal Trainer. My desk is out on the fitness floor so you can stop by and say Hi if you want. I’ll still be writing blogs, and hopefully be making some videos and other fun things from time to time. If you’d like to keep following me, check out my website here, Jones Performance. See you around.
Matt