HOW TO SOLVE YOUR PHYSICAL PAIN

Few things are as distracting as constant pain. It interferes with your ability to concentrate, listen effectively and to retain information. When I first meet my clients they are often weak, overweight and in constant pain. They have learned to simply accept that this is who they are.

Irrespective of your age a limited range of movement isn’t normal. Don’t accept that you can’t lift your arm above your head or squat onto a low seat without pain.

These are the movement standards that executives accept. They shrugged it off by explaining ‘it’s always been like that.’ This may be a true statement but it doesn’t need to remain this way.

If you are in pain, navigating the medical system can be difficult. Who do you seek for advice?

Each professional will stick to what they know. If you see a GP they will prescribe you medication, a surgeon may advise you need surgery, a physio will recommend physio, a chiro will prescribe a chiropractic adjustment, a massage therapist will give you a massage and a sports scientist will give you exercise.

You get the point. They each have their best interests in mind.

Before you see someone consider this. There is always a cause. When assessing a client I consider:

1. MOBILITY
Do you have good hip, knee and ankle mobility? Can you squat while keeping your eyes up, get your bum low and keeping your back upright? Poor mobility in these three joints will force our back into an unsafe position when bending your knees.

You can protect your back by working on the mobility of your hips.

2. STABILITY
It’s often true that people with good mobility have poor stability. This is especially true for females. If you can bend your knees and keep the correct back alignment, how long can you hold that position? Are you able to activate your core muscles in the movement? Do you feel strong?

Mobility and stability are both pre-requisites before you can become strong.

3. CONDITIONING
Competitive males hear this — do you have back pain because you decided to exercise like you were 25 again? Exercise programming is a skill. Few people know how to do it and even fewer adhere to it.

Just going for a run or joining a gym sounds like a good idea but increasing your training volume from zero to four times per week can disobey the rules of basic exercise programming.

Adjusting your training volume could be the solution to your pain.

This is what I consider with my training clients. I also work closely with Matt McCutcheon the physiotherapist of the Sydney Swans who treats my clients and aligns them with his massage therapist.

This is the model for pain management if you were to lace up your boots for the Sydney Swans. You would be put in the middle of three scientific disciplines: physio, sports science, and massage therapy.

This is the model for elite performance. This is the model I have created for the Executive Athlete.