"You could have a rock in your shoe and in current medicine you could take an ibuprofen and feel a little better and feel less pain. Or you could stop, remove your shoe and dump the rock out."
-Chris Kresser
This quote sums up so many things we see in medicine, performance, and life in general. All too often, we are looking for the quick fix—the pain reliever, the supplement, that one piece of equipment that should put us up and over the top. Is that thing we are looking for, though, really getting to the source of the issue?
Being as guilty of this as anyone it has been an eye-opener. There are a lot of things you can change in your lifestyle to get more health benefits:
- Staying hydrated
- Getting enough QUALITY sleep
- Eating Whole Foods as much as possible
- Limiting things on the ingredients label you can't pronounce
- Basic activity (walks are a great start, exercise snacks throughout the day)
- Simple mobility work
As much as you can try not to add to the continuation of dulling the pain or looking for a quick fix to get you to the next phase of whatever your goal might be. Stop, consult a professional if you need to, and figure out why that issue is occurring. Take the rock out of your shoe and be all the better for it.
Finding the source isn't always the simple and easy thing to do but it can be worth it in the long run. When it comes to aches and pains, ice isn't a bad solution but it might not actually be "fixing" what is going on. If you have the time and resources, try moving for a few minutes and then focusing on some soft tissue work to get it to feel better. It isn't quick in the moment but can be very beneficial in the long run.
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