One of the themes of this blog is self-care, and as such, I want to share a personal milestone and revelation with you.
I had hip pain for many, many years and only addressed it when acute issues arose. But when I finished grad school and had some extra time, I resolved to do something more proactive about my pain, and started going to a chiropractor. It was tough at first: I had appointments twice a week because my body just wouldn’t hold the adjustment, and I was sore from them a lot of the time. After a while, though, I graduated to maintenance, which entails adjustments about monthly.
But while I was patting myself on the back, my left foot nagged me with all kinds of pain (not that I pat myself on the back with my foot), from not healing properly after a nasty fall and a case of plantar fasciitis that just wouldn’t quit. After some research, I found my way to a sports chiropractor who has the resources to handle this sort of thing. The treatment is not fun, but neither is the chronic pain.
My revelation? When you commit to taking care of your body, take care of the whole thing. Everything works together. This probably seems obvious, but it’s so easy to–pardon the cliché–grease the squeaky wheel (or joint/appendage).
The same can be true for your metaphorical bodies, too, like your work, your relationships, your passions. Nurturing just parts of important things might be necessary from time to time when something urgent presents itself, but keeping everything in working order will prevent those acute issues from cropping up in the first place.