Month: February 2018

Riddle of the day: What does a river, a newspaper, and the human body all have in common?

Answer: Things go bad when their circulation drops.

If water were to stop flowing down a river it would eventually dry up and no longer exist. If nobody subscribed to a newspaper the company would end up going out of business. When the human body reduces circulation a whole myriad of problems can ensue. These are the problems you often hear people, or find yourself, complaining about: joint pain, excessive muscle tension, tendinitis, restless legs, arthritis, low energy, shortness of breath, dizziness, neuropathy, numbness, and tingling.

There is a very simple remedy for many of these issues: it’s called movement. In some cases, it might need to be a specific movement, but for most people a simple walk can achieve wonders. Walking is what drives organic function. When we walk, all of the 206 bones, 360 joints, and over 650 muscles move through the full range of motion in three-dimensional space. The muscles create a pumping mechanism that helps circulate fluids (not just blood) throughout the body. It causes a greater uptake of oxygen and improves the overall gas exchange in our respiratory system. It can also help achieve better hormonal balance, digestion, and state of mind.

Try this little experiment some time when you have been inactive (like sitting at a desk for more than thirty minutes). Before getting out of the chair, perform a mental check-in with how your body feels. Are there any areas that ache or feel too much tension? What is your emotional state? How is your energy level? Are you alert or is your mind tending to wander?

Now get up from the chair and go outside for a five-minute brisk walk. Maintain a gentle awareness of your surroundings and if your body experiences any kind of change. After five minutes, head back inside to your chair, but do not sit down. Stand by your chair and perform another mental check-in. Has anything changed? Are there more or less aches? How much tension is experienced? What is your emotional state? How is your energy level? Are you more or less alert?

If you noticed a change in any of these areas, you have proven the point. The body needs to move on a very regular basis. For most people, it needs to move more than it currently does. The cool thing about this little experiment is that it creates a noticeable change in a very short amount of time. The sad part is that the body will also revert back to its previous state if you sit back down for a long time. The key is to break up your time spent being inactive with short bursts of gentle activity. It will not only improve your circulation, but it will also improve your feeling of happiness. So stop reading this rant and go for a walk.

My son and I were recently studying the Revolutionary War and the events leading up to it. We read about the Stamp Act, the Townshend Act, the Quartering Act, the Boston Massacre and the Boston Tea Party. After studying these events he asked me why. Why did these things happen? I told him because the King of England wanted a debt repaid.

I explained that several years earlier the colonists were threatened in the north by the French and local natives, who attacked them and tried to conquer more land. The King of England sent military forces to the colonies to protect them. This cost a lot of money which needed to be repaid. The king tried to get his money back by taxing the colonists, but the colonists had other ideas.

It is very important that we study history in order to understand where we find ourselves today. I relay this story because it is very similar to when a person develops pain in their body. There is always a reason for pain. It does not just appear on a whim. It is a reaction to some action.

I had a man come see me who had been suffering from lower back pain for almost two years. He had tried several approaches to addressing his pain and although some helped there was not one thing that was truly successful.

We began with making a timeline of all of his injuries, significant illnesses, accidents, etc. Trying to get an idea of what occurred before the back pain which might have led to where he now finds himself. There was a basketball injury to his left leg thirty years ago, back in his high school days. That was followed by a left knee surgery to repair an injury he sustained while playing baseball not long after the first injury. The were some other episodes like a broken finger and impact to his right shoulder but the high school injuries were what interested me the most.

When we captured his gait on video we could see quite easily that he was not wanting to place much of his weight over his left leg. Even though his injury had occurred decades ago his body was still moving like it was yesterday. This was causing the muscles on his right side to undergo a lot more work to support him with every step he took. It also meant that his spine was having to adjust to living over his right leg and was never given a chance to experience what life was like over the left leg.

Could this gait pattern have been created thirty years ago and never went away? The answer is yes. Unless proper movement patterns get reestablished the strategy the unconscious mind develops to stay away from pain and future injury will continue. Remember, it took 13 years after the French & Indian war ended for Thomas Jefferson to write the Declaration of Independence. It might take thirteen years for pain to develop from an early injury.