Why Do You Exercise?
We are officially halfway into the year 2022. Life is slowly getting back to normal. Whether it be going to work, seeing friends and family, being out in the community or one of my favorite things, travelling. I think we can all agree that it has been a busy 6 months. People can start to feel unmotivated or run down (and cold). However, we understand. From doing nothing in the last two years to catching up in the last 6 months can be hard. Life can get away from us, but we need to take the time to check in with ourselves. We must remind ourselves what we need to do to make the most out of life.
A question we often ask when establishing an individualized treatment plan at MD Health is “what are your goals”. Something we can work towards and most often than not, it is the reason you are seeing us in the first place. For majority, it’s “getting rid of my hip or lower back pain” or “fixing my shoulder”. But what we really want to know is why you want you want to fix your shoulder and why you want the hip/lower back pain gone.
Have a think about what does managing your pain mean to you
Is it so you can spend time with and keep up with your grandchildren? Stay mobile and be able play golf twice a week with your friends? Or even being as independent as possible and not relying on others to help you get dressed or do things around the house like hanging up the washing.
It can sometimes be as simple as “exercising makes me feel good”. Everyone has their own motivators for coming to MD Health which allow them to continue to do things that make their life worthwhile.
Sometimes we can get complacent and forget that rehabilitation requires resilience and persistence. Long term pain can require long term management. Some other factors that can contribute to the success of this may include:
Consistency and adherence
Are you doing enough throughout the week? Aside from attending MD Health 2-3 times per week, are you meeting physical activity guidelines for your age group?
- For adults aged 18-64: Should be active on most, preferably every day. This can be accumulated as 2.5 to 5 hours of moderate physical activity per week or 25 to 2.5 hours of vigorous intensity physical activity per week (can be an equivalent of both)
- For adults over the age of 65: minimum of 30 minutes of moderate intensity activity on most, preferably all days.
Breaking or changing habits
If you know your hips feel stiff after sitting and watching TV for a long time, start by changing that. Modifying habits can be as simple as breaking up long periods of sitting by doing a couple laps around the house every time the ads come on. If you’re sitting at a desk working all day, utilize your lunch break and stand up or go for a walk.
When people are describing their issues, you’ll often hear them say “it’s just old age.” Although aging is an inevitable process, we know we have the power to make a positive impact on the way we age, and how various parts of our body feel and function across our lifespan. How you choose to age, in some ways, is up to you.
Everyone at MD Health wants you to be your best self and are here to help identify and change things that are contributing to your pain. It is one thing to fix but also another thing to manage. We focus a lot on preventative care (long term management) which is the system Michael has built up over the decades. Our goal is to not provide a short-term fix which can often lead to clients leaving once they are pain free only to return a few months-years later (more complex and in pain).
Remember you are taking ownership of your health by coming to us and that is something you should be proud of. We want you to feel empowered not only by your health but in your life and things you do that make you happy.
Articles:
Ashton RE, Tew GA, Aning JJ, et al Effects of short-term, medium-term and long-term resistance exercise training on cardiometabolic health outcomes in adults: systematic review with meta-analysis British Journal of Sports Medicine 2020;54:341-348.
https://www.health.gov.au/health-topics/physical-activity-and-exercise
Do you have any questions?
- Call us on (03) 9857 0644 or (07) 3505 1494 (Paddington)
- Email us at admin@mdhealth.com.au
- Check out our other blog posts here
Our clinical staff would be happy to have chat if you have any questions.
