By Dustin Boudreau, Health and Wellness Columnist
Our bodies are designed perfectly, we are not meant to have daily pain – unless it is from a clinical diagnosis of a disease or condition that has pain as a symptom/sign. We cause our own pain by our daily actions, injuries, and poor posture. Whether you believe in evolution or creation, over thousands of years our bodies have adapted to our environment and the requirement to move – to hunt, fight or flight, among other things.
It is when we stop moving for one reason or another, either becoming sedentary or an area of the body is immobilized, that is when pain can increase. Our bodies consist of 60% water, and water in its natural state moves, and flows. Water flows in our body’s joint capsules, muscle fibres, between skin and muscles, our brains, between each structure, and of course in our veins and arteries. When water sits, like in a small pond, without moving or flowing, it becomes stagnant. As it is with the water in our bodies, when we don’t move like we are meant to, we cause pain or increase pain we currently have. Joints seize up, muscles become tight, and connective tissues become sticky.
We stop moving when we die, the water stops flowing through our systems, so movement is life! So, next time when you’re sitting at your desk for a bit and your back or shoulders start to ache, MOVE! When you are on the couch binging through Netflix and begin to feel uncomfortable or a limb false asleep, MOVE! There is a reason people who are active (and I don’t mean athletes, I mean people who are active during the day MOVING) tend to decrease risk of disease, have more energy (hydroelectricity, hmm), and have less pain. Or, why surgeons get patients out of bed the day after surgery. The reason is because movement is life, and when we move, we heal!
Start thinking about the connection between your pain and the amount of movement you do during the day. Here is a tip to decrease or prevent pain from happening. While at a desk, every half hour (while you are awake), stand up, twist one way and then the other, bend over, hoola your hips, open your arms like you are waiting for a big hug, get your body flowing again.
DC Boudreau,
Boudreau Business Inc. Clinic
dc@boudreaubusiness.com
www.boudreaubusiness.com
Photo by Craig Chitima on Unsplash
