How can physiotherapy help you
by Ian Sung - Physiotherapist, Strength Clinic Academy
So you’ve injured yourself 6 years ago, lived with the discomfort and have now decided to see a physio…. GREAT! Let’s get you fixed up and back to peak performance in 7 days. I’m sure that’s what most of us have in mind when we choose to Google ‘physio near me’, but unfortunately it’s slightly more complicated than that. Let’s break this down and set some realistic expectations for when you walk into a physio clinic for the first time.
It's true, our bodies are magnificent machines that have the ability to adapt and heal, however, there are limitations; afterall, we aren’t able to re-grow limbs and organs. Metabolism predominantly declines over time, and even though we were once able to recover from strains, bruises, and even hangovers quickly in our youth, these processes start to drag out longer as we get older. This applies to our bodily injuries as well. Furthermore, adulting becomes a secondary complication because we aren’t as mobile in our professional life, and we start to deal with an exponential increase in daily stress, when compared to our younger selves. So why is this? Let’s take a deep dive.
Metabolism is our body’s natural ability to build and remodel based on our daily physical stress. Stress creates micro damages to our tissues every day, and metabolism helps to repair the damages. Through puberty, the repair and rebuild process moves quicker than the stress, which explains the rapid growth of our bodies. In our mature state, the repair starts to fall behind and we begin to build up a backlog of tasks for our metabolism to attend to. This explains why we are likely to experience muscle aches and joint soreness more regularly. Think of the tarmac on our roads, and how repaving potholes and cracks seem to be a never-ending job for our city workers. Our bodies are the same, but it doesn’t mean that we are hopeless.
With injury rehab, there are two paths we can venture down – one: band-aid solution, and two: long term result. One is of course quicker than the other, but often leads to a constant need for attention. The other, although slower, will help you achieve better results for longer. A terrific analogy is likening our bodies and our relationship with a physio, to that of a car with a mechanic. The longer our cars run without maintenance, the more likely we are to strain each component and have it lead to a breakdown. A physio can identify strained parts and educate you on how to prolong the life of your body without having it lead to a breakdown prematurely. The process however, isn’t as easy as replacing parts.
Through an assessment, we can identify movement patterns or strength deficits that lead to the symptoms you are reporting. With each issue we find, we draw up a solution through either manual therapy or exercise. In doing so, the goal is to help you optimise your movement pattern going forward, as to avoid putting further strain on your body. These often take time, as the brain also requires a period to learn. The more things we identify in our assessment, the longer it may take.
Now let’s go back to that 6 year old injury. In that time, a lot of issues would have developed through altered movement patterns and lifting techniques, so much like a mechanic with a car that’s overdue for a service, it will take time to get it back to optimal performance. Don’t let this demoralise you and have you resort to feeling like you should simply ‘live with it’. Instead, seek a physiotherapist who will progressively advise and guide you back to where you want to be. Some goals may need to be modified to be age and function appropriate, but we don’t need to live the rest of our lives with cotton wool padded all over us. Life is too long for you to avoid doing the things you love, so let’s get started in returning you to peak physical performance!
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Daily energy expenditure through the human life course. 2021. Science. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abe5017
How much does your metabolism slow down as you age? 2024. WebMd. https://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/how-much-does-your-metabolism-slow-down-as-you-age
What is Physio? 2024. Australian Physiotherapy Association. https://choose.physio/what-is-physio