It Happened to Me: How Injuries Drastically Alter Our Way of Life
Injuries to our body are the biggest bummer, especially to active, Type A people like me. A major injury to my hip and pelvis several years ago sidelined me for months. I almost went out of my mind sitting around waiting for it to heal so that I could get back to the active life I loved.
If you know my story, you will remember this injury began my passion and journey as an Assisted Stretching coach. It truly altered my life in a great way.
Injuries—little or big—can be life altering: but not exactly in a great way. I want to share another injury story with you… about me.
My favorite place on earth is a little cottage I rent in Rosemary Beach, FL. I have been going there by myself for writing sessions for years!
During a recent trip, I had to climb 2 sets of stairs to unload my car into the cottage. My car was overloaded with you-name-it, I-brought-it. I made many, many trips up and down those steps with way more in my hands than I probably should be carrying.
On one of my last trips, I felt a little pain in the side of my ankle and foot.
“Oh darn, it will go away by morning, ” I told myself. But NO… it was worse! I could barely put weight on that foot.
Talk about being “stuck”: I was going to be stuck in that cottage for sure. Great for writing, but awful for this active girl.
My foot injury totally altered my stay at the beach.
I couldn’t do my sunrise coffee walk on the beach.
I couldn’t ride my bike.
I couldn’t walk the town streets to shop.
I couldn’t walk to dinner at night.
I couldn’t participate in the wine festival that I had a ticket for.
I couldn’t walk to the beach for sunset.
Talk about a bummer!
My experience on my trip was totally altered because of the injury and pain in my ankle.
Recently, I was telling this story to one of my students. She in exchange told me the story of her husband:
He had been an avid golfer. He was retired and played frequently with his buddies.
But now, he is not golfing at all. He is too embarrassed about his inability to swing the club as well as he once could. He also has issues bending to pick up his ball without pain.
“He is just too tight,” his wife told me.
He is “stuck”!
His lack of mobility has altered his life because he is now not able to participate in the sport he loves with the buddies he loves.
This story has truly pulled on my heart and has not left my brain since I heard it. I can’t get it out of my mind.
Because this story is a lot of people’s stories!
When we are “stuck” in our body, it’s not just the physical part that is affected! It takes a big phycological toll on us as well.
That is an even bigger bummer!
Let’s not get “stuck”—let’s catch it before it catches us!
Let’s STRETCH to open up our bodies so that we can stay active, mobile, and independent as we age.
No surgeries, no canes, no walkers, no wheelchairs.
As I’ve said before...
It takes time to get “stuck”—It takes time to get “unstuck.”
But we can do it!
I will leave you with a quote from my instructor at the last stretch workshop I attended: “If you are not increasing your flexibility and range of motion, you are decreasing it.”
So let’s keep stretching.
