Now here’s a topic to get excited about! Or frustrated. Or enraged. We’d better start off by defining the terms in the title.
Aches and pains, when used colloquially, describe the familiar and annoying discomfort that practically all humans experience on occasion. Nagging irritation or sharp twinges that challenge and restrict movement. Impediments to feeling great and moving effectively. Something got, or is, tweaked.
Painting a crystal-clear picture of the aging athlete is more difficult. Technically, all humans are athletes (in a broad sense) and you’re aging from day one. But if we boil it down a bit, for conversation’s sake, let’s say most athletic humans begin to appreciate the concept of aging once they are into their 4th or 5th decade. You know, getting a little past your prime. Noticing that you can’t quite do what you did when you were 19 or 27. And that reduced output capacity is accompanied by a little more soreness, stiffness, and fatigue. In the best case scenario, the Lifetime Athlete experiences the onset and severity of these limitations – later and lesser, respectively – than the general population.
Nonetheless, aging athletes acquire some aches and pains, and as many of us can say, “it sucks.” I was inspired to talk about this subject because of a recent engagement with a client. As many of you are aware, subscribed members in The Lifetime Athlete App can schedule on-demand Personal Coaching Consultation sessions. These are videoconference meetings in which I get the opportunity to utilize my experience as a physical therapist, coach, trainer, and health educator in 1-on-1 fashion. We do things like designing and refining customized training programs, solving movement and pain problems, or addressing health and body composition concerns.
The gentleman with whom I was working asked me why his aches and pains had developed. Because of this question, I knew he was a winner right off the bat. Most people just say “here’s my problem…tell me how to fix it.” Or something like that. Similar to the line of thinking that you can spot-reduce belly fat by doing situps. But this dude wanted to fully understand why he had the problem. Identifying the root cause. This is the kind of thinking that leads to ownership, mastery, and ultimate success.
In one of my more concise moments, I said the following. “Despite our best efforts, the human body is prone to stiffening and/or weakening over time. Sometimes only in one area but usually in several. We then lose access to certain positions and movement patterns. Accordingly, the brilliant human body compensates to get the job (work, sport, life) done. These compensatory or substitution patterns cause loading irregularities which usually result in tissue overstress and potentially breakdown and pain. This can occur as an acute (traumatic) or chronic (gradual) episode. This process is generally similar across the species but it is also unique to each individual, with respect to genetics and lifestyle.”
He said “That makes total sense.” Our session progressed into some on-screen motion analysis and biomechanical tests/measures. We discovered a few things that were not working quite right, addressed them with simple corrective exercises, and then did an immediate re-test. [Here’s a tip for any clinician. Test your intervention right away. If you are on the right track, there will be a positive result, often dramatic. This guides your ongoing program adjustment and it solidifies the relationship with your client.] He felt better and got an assignment to work on until we follow up. I usually only need to do a couple of sessions with most cases. The goal is always to be efficient and effective in achieving high outcomes. I feel we need more value versus cost in healthcare and that’s why I developed this model.
Back to aches and pains in the aging athlete. Movement dysfunction (those deficits in strength, mobility, and motor control) leads to irritated tissue and unpleasant symptoms. And, ironically, those same aches and pains further degrade movement. It’s a vicious cycle. Or it can be. But it doesn’t have to be.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with treating symptoms. Sometimes you need a little relief, and calming down the symptoms can make the process of addressing movement more comfortable. You can ice, heat, e-stim, ultrasound, diathermy, dry needle, laser, massage, manipulate, and medicate (among many other options in a very long list) the hell out of those symptoms. I used to do a shit ton of that stuff. Despite what you may hear or believe (and I know this will piss off a lot of therapists but I really don’t give a flying rat’s ass), those adjunctive treatments mainly provide a temporary alteration of your sensation and circulation. Movement is king, and the other modalities are not even close by a wide margin. But movement intervention has to be selected, scaled, and progressed appropriately.
If restoring functional, painfree movement is the goal, why not cut to the chase? A skilled clinician can help you to work around, toward, and ultimately through…the problem. This is true in most cases. Sure, there are going to be some situations which mandate surgery and other procedures, as well as temporary (usually very temporary) immobilization. But all roads lead to movement and the correct avenue to your destination is properly designed exercise therapy.
Truth is, the journey of life can also be viewed as the trip to death. Not trying to be morbid here, just pragmatic. On the graph of life, we ride the healthspan curve until it descends to the baseline and terminates its progression. We can’t deny that. It’s a fact. But we can certainly change the shape of the curve. Health and longevity depend upon us staying highly active and athletic for as long as possible. And like it or not (Lifetime Athletes will like it, but doubters, haters, and deniers won’t), addressing the inevitable aches and pains which occur as we age is of crucial importance.