As I drove through the central Auckland suburbs on Sunday morning on my way to do some exercise and chase it with a long black from my local, I marvelled at the sites passing by. No, I don’t mean the bare branches of the mid-winter trees or the decades-old homes sitting on prime yet horrendously inflated real estate. I was instead enjoying the people watching on offer. Just like me, on my way to the gym to get in some Sunday morning movement, there were plenty of other keen Kiwis out there doing their thing; running, biking or simply strolling. Bloody good on ‘em! It’s fantastic to see people keeping active, promoting health and perhaps even having a chuckle at the young fellow across the road looking dishevelled as he makes the homeward walk of shame.
First and foremost, I congratulate the active among us. This is not an attempt to belittle anyone’s efforts to move and be well. With that said, on Sunday morning I couldn’t help but feel bewildered at some of the runners I spotted out there. The most memorable example of my bafflement was spotting a mid-40’s chap with a grim wince on his face, sporting a knee brace on each leg an complex yet conspicuous ankle strapping. From the warmth of my air-conditioned car I uttered out loud: Why? Why do you do this to yourself?
At what point did we decide that just putting a band-aid over the symptoms and continuing to grovel in our painful self-depreciating activities was the way to go? When did we decide it was too hard, or it takes too long, to address the actual cause of the problem?
Such simple questions when you see them on paper. It literally does seem laughable that we – the most intelligent of species – have opted for the most backward of philosophies.
Put it this way, when your car or your bike breaks down or parts of it are damaged, what do you do? Do you continue to drive around with strips of duct tape visibly holding things in place forever? Or, with it making that somewhat concerning sound that you can also kind of feel under your left foot every time you use the clutch? Of course you don’t! That would be unbecoming, not to mention unsafe!
So why do we treat our bodies any different? Why do we run around with tape all over us, looking like a 1987 Daihatsu on its last legs? Your body truly is the only place you have to live in, so logic should follow that you take care of your own body more than your material belongings. We seem to have it all arse-about-face, though!
While this isn’t just a problem in the running population, and the same questions could be asked of the current Western health care paradigm, we’ll keep this article focussed on runners. The first thing you need to do is accept that there is almost always a better pathway than your smelly, discoloured pharmacy knee brace. The expertise being shared online by very capable and forward-thinking chiropractors, doctors and physical therapists nowadays is amazing. Videos that guide you through basic rehabilitative exercises and the like are available for free all over YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. If you’re not the type to attempt these things at home without guidance, find yourself a progressive practitioner who will address the bigger picture to find the underlying cause. Don't settle for a practitioner who will just strap up the painful joint and send you on your way with a couple of exercises. Anatomy trains, movement patterns, biotensegrity models, functional mobility; these are (some of) the methods that are helping people to completely reset their bodies, get pain-free, and move towards optimisation. If all you want is some tape over your sore knee to get through the marathon on Sunday, I’d suggest you’re in too much of a rush to get anywhere.
James Kuegler Coaching places a strong emphasis on daily mobility to promote complete and healthy function in all athletes. The daily exercises that our athletes use have helped people to get over injury, prevent injury and improve running performance. How many runners can say that they work on their mobility daily? Weekly? At all?
If you want to make a start on levelling up and moving away from the blurry line that is pain and injury, check out The 10-Minute Mobility Guide. See if you can make your way through the whole guide! If you think you need some extra help, ask us for advice on the best therapists or health practitioners in your area.
At what point did we decide that just putting a band-aid over the symptoms and continuing to grovel in our painful self-depreciating activities was the way to go? When did we decide it was too hard, or it takes too long, to address the actual cause of the problem?
Such simple questions when you see them on paper. It literally does seem laughable that we – the most intelligent of species – have opted for the most backward of philosophies.
Put it this way, when your car or your bike breaks down or parts of it are damaged, what do you do? Do you continue to drive around with strips of duct tape visibly holding things in place forever? Or, with it making that somewhat concerning sound that you can also kind of feel under your left foot every time you use the clutch? Of course you don’t! That would be unbecoming, not to mention unsafe!
So why do we treat our bodies any different? Why do we run around with tape all over us, looking like a 1987 Daihatsu on its last legs? Your body truly is the only place you have to live in, so logic should follow that you take care of your own body more than your material belongings. We seem to have it all arse-about-face, though!
While this isn’t just a problem in the running population, and the same questions could be asked of the current Western health care paradigm, we’ll keep this article focussed on runners. The first thing you need to do is accept that there is almost always a better pathway than your smelly, discoloured pharmacy knee brace. The expertise being shared online by very capable and forward-thinking chiropractors, doctors and physical therapists nowadays is amazing. Videos that guide you through basic rehabilitative exercises and the like are available for free all over YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. If you’re not the type to attempt these things at home without guidance, find yourself a progressive practitioner who will address the bigger picture to find the underlying cause. Don't settle for a practitioner who will just strap up the painful joint and send you on your way with a couple of exercises. Anatomy trains, movement patterns, biotensegrity models, functional mobility; these are (some of) the methods that are helping people to completely reset their bodies, get pain-free, and move towards optimisation. If all you want is some tape over your sore knee to get through the marathon on Sunday, I’d suggest you’re in too much of a rush to get anywhere.
James Kuegler Coaching places a strong emphasis on daily mobility to promote complete and healthy function in all athletes. The daily exercises that our athletes use have helped people to get over injury, prevent injury and improve running performance. How many runners can say that they work on their mobility daily? Weekly? At all?
If you want to make a start on levelling up and moving away from the blurry line that is pain and injury, check out The 10-Minute Mobility Guide. See if you can make your way through the whole guide! If you think you need some extra help, ask us for advice on the best therapists or health practitioners in your area.
