Keep Doing What You Love

When it comes to exercise, there’s a lot of information and options available to you.

In terms of movement, some of you may want to run a marathon but currently can't walk a kilometer. You may want to join a CrossFit gym but you have never picked up weights in your life. You may have been a former athlete who played hockey, but sustained a nasty shoulder injury that restricted your ability to continue.

I still believe you should do what you love. It might mean you have to change how you do that, modify, scale it back, even start at the beginning again. Chances are, you might need some help along the way like physio, chiro, massage, athletic therapy, psychotherapy, or a personal trainer. But there are lots of options out there to help you find your way back to the things you love.

If you've been an athlete in the past, you may not be able to get back to that same level. But it doesn't mean you can't do something new, something different or at a different level. I used to be a swimmer, a hockey player and I used to run track. I enjoyed a lot of sports and I've sustained knee injuries, back injuries and over the years and have now discovered a passion for lifting weights. I still like doing some high intensity working out but most of those things involve weights.

Do I miss my high level athlete days, I don't miss the pressure! Sometimes when we sustain an injury we have to cut back and make some changes. For example, when I injured my back doing deadlifts (please note I had done something silly, it wasn't the deadlift itself, it was a poor execution of the lift) I had to make some changes. I started lifting with a light dumbbell or simply unweighted movement forward flexion until I built up my tolerance and was able to get back into something heavy.

There are some occasions when people cannot return fully to the activity they love. But sometimes we can find another form of movement that brings you joy. So if you were a former runner, maybe you could enjoy swimming or something a bit more competitive like golf or tennis. Maybe you used to be a figure skater, but for a variety of reasons it is not accessible to you. Maybe you would enjoy dancing.

Remember there are means to find a new activity to love, even if that new passion requires minor adjustments.

Nicola Robertson

Pelvic Floor Physiotherapist