You’d never think that being able to pick stuff up with your feet or being able to get down to the ground by squatting are super useful skills until you desperately need them.
I needed them recently after I injured my back falling out of a raft and onto a rock. In addition to a nasty bruise, I found myself unable to move my back (or my hip) without excruciating pain.
If you’ve ever had a back injury, or really any injury, you don’t realize how much you use a specific movement until every time you do it causes pain.
Because I couldn’t bend in my lower back, I had to be super creative with not only how I moved but every decision about how I used my body throughout the day.
And all of the flexibility and dexterity that used to be just a weird party trick became incredibly helpful when I couldn’t move.
Accidents happen, whether we want them to or not. And you can’t be creative with how you move if you don’t have any options for the rest of your body.
Your choice is simple – you either work around the pain by (over) using your other joints, or you stop moving entirely. But a life spent entirely on the sidelines with a pack of ice doesn’t seem like a great plan either.
My shoulder flexibility allowed me to do some cupping on myself so that the bruise and inflammation could be reabsorbed faster. My hip flexibility allowed me to get up and down off the floor while keeping my back straight and avoiding pain.
Your reasons for getting stronger and more flexible are probably not so you can be more creative about movement post-injury, but I can tell you with 100% certainty, it will sure make things a lot easier.
Are you prepared? Do you have more movement options?
PS Ready to get stronger with every movement you do? Here are 3 ways I can help you now:
- Join the AE Wellness Body Nerds and connect with other busy women on a quest to get stronger and wake up every day without pain.
- Join me for my next online class, Movement Managed and learn how to get stronger and more flexible without hurting yourself in the process.
- Book a free Movement Magic session and get a personalized plan for getting stronger, more flexible and pain-free. Want to trust your body and it’s ability to move without creating an injury? Do you need accountability so that you don’t start and stop something…again? Let’s talk. Tell me a bit about what’s going on and schedule your call here.
