My Leg is in Pain, And I Have 3 Theories Why.
by Jeremy ChanceAs you live, injuries are natural part of living.
My right leg has been screaming at me these last few days, and I am wondering why.
Pains like this seem to mysteriously appear – an unexpected discomfort in a part of your movement system that seems to have no rhyme or reason. It’s irritating, consistent and defies your efforts to remedy it.
In cases like these, I whip out my “detective” principle of movement analysis:
There is always a reason.
(Don’t believe Coca Cola’s “No Reason” - it’s bullshit.)
There is always a cause.
This is an article of faith for me. Because pain, discomfort or whatever else we call it, this is how our system alerts us. This is what right about us.
I don’t say you can always find it, but there is always a cause. In my case, I summed it up like this:
The first theory: I’m doing something different
The second theory: using the pedal on my car
The Third theory: I’m getting old.
The 3rd one is not a theory, it’s a fact.
However, that feels like a catchall idea that doctors throw out – I’ve had it said to me – when they basically don’t know why something is happening.
Forget that.
But the 1st and 2nd theory are all about: what am I doing that is new? Well, the 2nd theory of using my car pedal is clearly aggravating my leg, but maybe not a cause. I don’t drive in Japan, and I was there for 3 months. Now back in Australia, I am driving so this is a reasonable theory, but still…
What about the 1st theory?
I began to wonder – what have I been doing differently with my leg recently? But thinking of it as “leg” was too narrow. I kept wondering – OK, my leg / hip joint is complaining a lot, but where, which muscles, what movements?
Movements. Then I had an embarrassing realization.
Oh.
I started a new relationship. Started doing new things.
You get the drift?
As I said, there is ALWAYS a cause. Now I have some interesting research to do, and a little more healing to give myself.
This kind of analysis is at the core of BodyThinking – which is now available for this month only at a beginner’s bargain price.
TOMORROW: The Emotional Dilemma
Picture credit: Pixabay
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