Movement is Medicine

Doing some pull ups at the local exercise park. Photo taken in July 2020.

 I am not sure when it was that I first heard the saying Movement is Medicine but it stuck with me. It’s not that I believe it to be true. It is more I know this is true. You can do a quick search and find hundreds of researched articles that will back up this simple saying. Rather than to drop a bunch quotes I can rather share my personal experience.

 Before I started taking my health seriously I was on a downward spiral. I was dealing with a number of medical issues that included degenerative discs and undiagnosed shoulder problems. I have thought my shoulders to have rotator cuff damage. I also thought it was bursitis. At one point when the pain was near unbearable it was said to be frozen shoulder. Bottom line is I was in a lot of pain and not moving because of it. 

 When I was younger like anyone else I would just go to the doctor, get loaded up on pain medications thinking it would solve the problem. I am a bit wiser now and I know that pain medications aren’t the answer. They may relieve your pains for a while, but at the same time these medications cause damage to vital organs in the long run without getting to the root cause of the pain. I was seeing doctors but thankfully in Norway they aren’t so quick to prescribe medications like in the US.

 After seeing a number of doctors and specialists what was recommended was physical therapy for my back and shoulders. I did a few months of physical therapy. But I struggled to do a majority of the exercises. I was told to do them at home as well but it wasn’t happening. I chose to rather sit still so to not feel any pain. When PT failed to relieve my pain to my satisfaction I stopped going. I was given a chart with suggested exercises to follow. I thought it was absurd. How was I supposed to do these exercises when I could barely get up out of a chair without collapsing. I continued to get worse. At the same time because I was just sitting around I was gaining weight rapidly which made matters even worse. 

 After changing doctors I was finally prescribed some mild pain relievers seeing I could barely walk upright. I really didn’t want to go this route but the pain was excruciating at this point. The medication didn’t relieve me of all the pain. But it relieved me enough to at least try some of the exercises that were suggested to me. This was a few months or so before I decided to fully adopt a healthier lifestyle. Besides the suggested exercises I did some of my own exercises as well. For the first time in a long time I was moving regularly. 

 After a few weeks of exercising lightly I stopped the medications, but I kept up with the moving. I continued to exercise and I began feeling a bit better. I then made the commitment to adopt an all around healthier lifestyle.

 As days turned to weeks and weeks into months I lost weight, got stronger and started feeling so much better. I still feel a great amount of pain daily. But I manage it much better. There is no known cure for my back problem so pain management is the best solution. Strengthening my back muscles by exercising has been much better than allowing the pain to get the best of me. Sitting around, giving into the pain was only making things worse. My leg muscles grew weak and all my joints ached from the lack of movement. There was no doubt that the more I moved, the better I felt. 

 Our joints are all designed to move. In order for us live reaching our maximum potential we need to move our joints in different directions as frequently as possible. If we don’t move, we will lose mobility in the neglected joints. The old saying goes use it or lose it and this could not be more true when it comes to our joints. 

 In extreme cases pain relievers could help you but you have to keep in mind that they aren’t a cure. The actual cure is movement. A majority of the problems we face daily are  literally due to our lack of movement, or poor posture and just all around poor lifestyle choices including our diets. Plopping down on the couch after work may seem to be the best thing to do but after years of this, sitting on that couch can take its toll. The best thing we can do is find a pleasurable physical activity to partake in. Going that extra miles will actually help to increase our energy levels and help us to live healthier, happier lives. 

 Besides now exercising daily I also took up meditation and Qi Gong. The Qi Gong is a great way to move your body and work your joint. In only a few months I regained flexibility that I thought I lost forever. In some areas I am now more flexible in my 50’s than I was in my 20’s. The meditation helps me in countless ways. One vital area meditation helps me in, is dealing with my chronic pain. Where I used to focus on the pain inevitably making it worse than it was, I now have learned to put my focus elsewhere. It helps me to workout regardless of any pain I feel. Prescribing myself daily movement has changed my life completely. I am proof that it is never to late to just start moving. Those of you that aren’t even close to your 50’s yet, I strongly suggest you make it a habit now. If you make it a habit now you can avoid most of the common aches and pains that aren’t necessarily caused by ageing. They are more caused by lack of movement. Moving everyday is what truly keeps the doctor away. An apple a day helps as well. ThanX for reading.