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Exercise

Feel Better In 2019

January 10, 2019

Regardless of whether you’re the type to make resolutions, if you are living with any type of nagging pain that just doesn’t seem to go away, let’s make 2019 the year that you finally start to feel better.

For many people, living with pain has just become the norm. They become so accustomed to joints aching and things hurting that they forget what it is like to actually live pain free. They will chalk it up to things such as “just getting older”, or arthritis, or an old injury, or even just every day muscle aches. Regardless of the reason, I’m here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be this way.

It wasn’t long ago that I found myself in this situation. At 35 years old, I found myself in pain all the time. My hips hurt, my feet hurt, my knees hurt, my back hurt, my sleep was suffering, and I was generally just feeling terrible. Fortunately - I was able to turn it around with some very simple steps. The same steps that I am going to share with you now.

Drink more water

If you are experiencing any kind of muscle or joint pain, one of the simplest things that you can do to feel better is to simply drink more water. Water is a critical element of life, and our bodies use it for just about everything, including the lubrication of joints, keeping our body processes working properly, keeping our skin healthy, and so much more.

It is recommended that the average adult male should drink about 15 cups of water per day, and the average adult female should drink 11 cups per day. One tip to make this easier for you to keep track of is to purchase a water bottle with a timeline on it, like this one.

It should be noted that if you suddenly begin to drink a lot more water, you will pee a lot more often at first. It will seem like you’re getting up and going to the bathroom every couple of minutes. This WILL taper off after a week or two. So stick with it. Your body will thank you!

"Exercise" every day

I put exercise in quotes here, because as soon as you start thinking of it as exercise, it becomes a "just get it over with" activity instead of something you enjoy doing. The objective here has very little to do with fitness or weight loss. It has to do with keeping the body moving. The human body is the only machine on earth that gets better the more you use it. When we spend so much of our days sitting or laying, our muscles and joints tend to become accustomed to the inactivity.

Forget about running on treadmills, or lifting weights or whatever fitness typically looks like to you. It’s totally fine if you actually enjoy doing those things, but "enjoy" really is the operative word here. If dancing badly in your underwear for an hour while listening to disco music is your jam, then do that. If it’s swimming, or playing basketball, or walking around a scenic part of town, do that! The very act of moving your limbs has tremendous health benefits, and it won’t be long before you start noticing less pain.

Eat Less Sugar

Let me be real for a moment. I love me some junk food. Any time there is candy, or cookies, or brownies, or cake around... it's not around for very long. I just can’t seem to help myself. So, if you’re anything like me, then this tip might be one that you truly want to just ignore. But - it’s time to face a hard truth: Sugar is killing us softly with its sweet, sweet song.

You see, as delicious as it tends to be - sugar is an inflammatory. And so even if you can overlook the role it plays in obesity, heart disease and diabetes - it is still something that will cause and/or exacerbate inflammation in the body.

Of all of the things that I did to help alleviate the various pains that I was feeling - drastically reducing the amount of sugar and carbs that I was ingesting seemed to have the biggest impact. Not only did I lose weight as a result (20 pounds and counting), things generally just seemed to ache less when I wasn’t eating so much of it.

Invest in yourself

"Treat Yo'self", as they say. If you are dealing with any kind of chronic, recurring pain, it might be time to look at making some important investments into your own comfort and health.

Do you have a comfortable mattress and a proper pillow? If you find yourself waking up with a stiff neck, back pain or hip pain, it might be time for an upgrade.

Do your feet and knees always hurt? It might be time to start looking at your shoes, and investing in a more comfortable, cushioned pair.

Do your hips and low back always hurt? It might be time to invest in a better computer chair, or a standing desk.

The point is - we only get one life to live. And so when we experience pain, it diminishes the quality of that life. Yes, it can be painful to spend a lot of money on something like a mattress or a chair - but not only will it make the time you spend in them more enjoyable - it will also increase the quality of life spent out of them.

See a therapist

And finally - if the pain is simply not going away, it might be time to talk to a physical therapist. Physical Therapists are experts in treating just about any pain that humans can experience. Whether it is a result of an injury, an accident, genetics, or something else entirely - they can provide a custom-tailored regimen specifically geared to alleviate the pain that you’re experiencing.

With two locations, flexible scheduling, and various plans and options for payment - there is no reason to keep putting it off. Make 2019 the year that you finally become pain free.

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Posted in Exercise on Jan 10, 2019