Injury Prevention and Rehab – We’re All A Ford Focus

I had a little flash of hippie thinking the other day while talking to a client. He asked me if his muskuloskeletal ‘issues’ were unique to him, or if everyone had them. I replied that everyone pretty much has the same problems, from chronic to acute injury, from diet to motivation. After I answered, I found myself looking across the gym and thinking, ‘that’s actually a pretty amazing thing.’ It’s a real testament to the fact that we are all a lot more similar than we are different.

It’s really a pretty simple thought that struck me in a powerful way. We are all walking around in basically the same body. It’s as if we are all driving the same model car. At most we have a different color or maybe an accessory or two. Some of us might tint the windows or add a bumper sticker, some might change the sound system, but underneath we are all the same frame and motor – we’re all a Ford Focus.

This has a couple of implications. To start with the more simple one, we all need to have an understanding of basic maintenance. Just like with your car, if you fail to keep it in good condition it will start to fall apart. This starts with what you put in it. Low quality gasoline and oil (or none at all) will wreck your car. Low quality food and drink will wreck your body. You also need to drive your car. If you’ve ever let it sit for an extended period of time, especially in the winter, you may have experienced trouble getting it to start. Your body is much the same way. Not enough movement equals stiff, stuck parts that don’t move well and have a tendency to break. This is often the underlying cause of injury, so taking a serious interest in it can go a long way to preventing injury, and can be the key to finally rehabing any existing ones.

Finally, to get down with the hippie bit, the next time you are at the gym I challenge you to look around and consider this: we are all basically in there for the same reasons, facing the same challenges, and struggling with the same bad habits, injuries, or other road blocks. We all have the same vulnerabilities whether they be physical like shoulder pain, low back pain, neck trouble, or psychological like sweet tooths, body dissatisfaction, and so on. And it’s all because underneath it all we have the exact same chassie as the person next to us. Man, woman, any race, any ethnicity, any nationality, heritage, or whatever else you care to look at, we’re all basically like a couple of Ford Focuses sitting next to each other at the stop light. Why do we get so caught up in the superficial differences?

PHOTO: Mikel Ortega – itxoiten, License