Today, a client feedback that his glutes are much stronger than before. He could feel a difference at the glutes when he uses the elliptical trainer at the gym. When squatting to full range aka ass to grass, he feels more stable. There is no need to jerk to come up from the bottom position.
Why?
Because we have been focusing a lot more on his glutes and hamstring.
Anticipating future needs and physical preparedness
One of my responsibilities as a chiropractor is to anticipate a client’s future physical needs, and to make sure his body is prepared for whatever lies ahead. It is not just about basic health and function goals. Like, being able to walk without having to rely on a Personal Mobility Device (PMD).
As we advance as a society and look more towards healthspan (as opposed to lifespan), we also need to consider other facets like quality of life.
Recovery is not just about basic health. It must also take into account our well-being goals.
This specific client had asked about going for MMA classes. He has also started doing some (very regressed) CrossFit classes. From his choice of exercises and indication of what he would like to do in the future, it is my job to help him get there.
Sometimes, even without my clients realising that.
Why did we focus so much on the glutes and hamstrings?
After he gave his feedback about his glutes feeling stronger, I explained that we have been doing more more glutes and hamstring work. Specifically, because he started going for CrossFit classes.
His response was that they are going okay so far.
Given his history with sciatica, the kind that could flare up through activities of daily living (i.e., no specific mechanical trigger), it is unlikely that he could have jumped into CrossFit without aggravating his disc herniation. When he first came to us, reformer pilates alone was enough to make his pain worse!
The only reason he could so far was because of the work we have done on the glutes and hamstrings.
If you live with sciatic pain, you would know what I mean. Any increase in stressors can trigger sciatica or low back pain. This can be something seemingly small like poor sleep to increased stress. To be able to engage in higher load and higher intensity exercises, always take preparation.
Prepare, prepare, prepare
The point of sharing this is that we need to be adequately prepared for the life we want to live. It’s not always just based on future fears (e.g., next time need to sit wheelchair). It can also be based on our well-being or wellness goals. Not everything need to come from a loss aversion perspective.
Through preparing this client for the physical activity he wants to engage, he is able to perform them with little to no issues. No significant flare up for sure. Some minimal aggravation is expectable and reasonable with any change in exercise routine. Overall, still a big win.
In fact, the preparation was so subtle that he didn’t even realise that has been what we were preparing for. This is why working for a professional can be helping. In my job as a chiropractor, I anticipate my client’s future needs and help them get to where they want to go.
Proactiveness triumph reactiveness
I think part of the surprise was also why are we doing so much glute and hamstring work when everything has been going well so far. Not that he was complaining. It was coming from a place of trying to genuinely understand.
The reason is quite simple. It’s always better to proactively prepare than to reactive to a pain or injury. When we proactively prepare our clients for future physical demands, they are more likely to be able to cope with and adapt to it. This means they can continue to participate in the activities of their choosing without having to stop.
When we take a try-and-see-how approach, it can be too reactive. We give it a good shot and see if it hurts. If it does, we come back to address the problem. This can very much become two step forwards, one step back.
Two steps forwards, one step back
Think about it. If you are doing something more because you feel better, it’s because you think you have made progress in your recovery. You see yourself being stronger. You see yourself in a better place than before. This is your two steps forward.
If whatever you do end up aggravating your symptoms, you may need to rest. You may even need to deload from existing physical activity. If the aggravation is significant, you likely will also need to see a professional, such as a chiropractor, to treat the condition again.
This is why poor preparation doesn’t yield good recovery outcomes.
It is not just an old injury
It is true that if you have a previous injury, you should take extra caution. I think it is very fair to say that previous injuries do predispose you to a higher risk of future injuries and/or pain. However, this is not reason for you to not make progress.
Very often, I hear clients intellectualise or normalise having pain because of an old injury. If you are getting recurrent pain from an old injury, there are only two possible explanations:
- You never adequately treat it to begin with so it never fully recovered
- It was indeed fully recovered but you keep re-injuring due to a lack of physical preparedness
Having an old injury is not a life sentence to pain.
You can still live a full and pain-free even with past injuries! What is most important is making sure you have the professional help you need and also the grit and resilience to do the hard work necessary for you to find freedom from pain.
Pain relief is an indication of recovery
If you are reading this, please internalise that pain relief is not an indication of recovery. I have repeated this for years now on this blog. I have even explicitly shared this with clients or prospective clients!
The failure to appreciate this concept does usually lead to future problems. Sometimes, in the immediate future.
Remember the referral I was trying to help in the middle of the night? I was very explicit in sharing that he needs to see me for an assessment after a two to three days. I did not want to see him immediately because he still had some medication to complete. I wanted to see how his pain improves, if it does, with medication before performing an assessment.
I was very explicit in sharing that pain relief is not recovery. I was very explicit in highlighting the need for an assessment. After a few days, he didn’t book in for the assessment as advised. His pain did worsen after he saw someone else for dry needling treatment.
It is funny how there is an urgency to see someone when the problem is painful and very real. But when the pain has improved, we cannot help but to downplay the severity and fail to take what I would consider as appropriate action.
Let his case be a warning for you. Pain relief is not recovery.
Don’t conflate pain relief treatments as recovery treatments
With the above in mind, that pain is not an indication of recovery, then we have to appreciate that different types of treatments exist. Not all treatments have the same objective.
If you were to seek more traditional treatments such as chiropractic adjustments and dry needling, they don’t talk about physical preparedness. They always take a problem-based approach:
- This joint is not moving well and is restricted. We need to free it up.
- This muscle is tight. We need to loosen it.
Even when your pain is gone, you may be asked to come back for more maintenance treatments. These treatments would be based on narratives such as so your joints don’t become restricted again. So your muscles don’t tighten up, etc.
They are all problem based. They are all about averting loss. It is very much sound like Carol Dweck’s idea of a fixed mindset.
Where is the growth? Where is the life that we actually want to live?
Physical preparedness is about growth
The principles Carol Dweck advocate for in a growth mindset is entirely applicable to recovery from chronic pain and injury. It’s about not letting your past inhibit your future success.
One of her key recommendation is the power of “yet”. It’s about shifting the focus from your limitations to your possibilities. For example, “I can’t do this” to “I can’t do this, yet”.
A very quick way to apply to recovery is “I am not strong, yet.”
The solution? Put in the hard work and get stronger. It’s going to take time and effort. If you want faster and more consistent results, it’s going to take money.
Personal training can help to strengthen muscles and joints. A strength and conditioning programme will see you getting stronger in as little as six weeks, though more time is usually required for longer term change. For people with chronic pain and injury, it may be better working with a chiropractor due to their more complex needs.
Freedom from pain
We push a lot about freedom from pain. Freedom from pain is not just about being pain free. In fact, you don’t even need to be pain free!
True freedom from pain is about living able to live the life you want on your own terms. It can be about the confidence to live your daily life without fear of getting injured or making an existing pain worse.
It’s about understanding your body so well that you know exactly what to do to prepare yourself for the next challenge. It is also about knowing how much you can push so you don’t get seriously injured. At times when you overestimate your abilities, you know exactly what to do to help yourself recover.
It is freedom from the bondage of pain.
Choosing Square One Active Recovery for chiropractic
At Square One Active Recovery, we see patients who have been living in constant worry about their next flare-up and avoiding activities they love.
We also had a client who saw a chiropractor for fifteen years because she was scared her problems will all come back if she stopped going. She even avoided exercises because of fear! Imagine how much muscle dystrophy would have occured.
Our approach is not fear based. We don’t use fear to motivate our clients. We focus on your goals and your values. It is about what you want. We help you achieve them by building resilience in your musculoskeletal system. So much that in your pursuit to freedom from pain, you become pain-free.
Sure, you may have the occasional minor aches. But that’s not going to derail your entire week or life! We work with you to develop body awareness, improve your movement quality, and create sustainable habits that support long-term spinal health.
It’s about giving you the tools and knowledge to maintain an active, fulfilling lifestyle while managing your body’s needs intelligently. When you achieve this kind of freedom, you stop being defined by your pain and start living according to your values and goals.
BOOK A CHIROPRACTOR IN SINGAPORE
Based in Singapore, Square One Active Recovery offers treatments with a very big difference. With our evidence-based exercise approach, you can achieve your recovery goals in just 12 weeks. Not getting results from your chiropractor, TCM doctor or physiotherapist? Talk to us and find out how we can take your recovery to the next level.
Our goal? To make our own services redundant to you.
*We do not offer temporary pain relief such as chiropractic adjustments, dry needling, or any form of soft tissue therapy.
