Injured and aging

You use your body, relying on it for work and play. You like biking or running or hiking, you’re just an active person. But, a recent illness or injury, combined with the fact that your body is going through the normal aging process, has created a situation where you can’t seem to move like you used to. You’re having a hard time reconciling the situation in your mind – it frustrates you beyond belief.

In the past when you’ve had an injury, you may have tried pain killers, muscle relaxers, a more personalized exercise plan, or maybe even just powering through the pain – hoping it will go away.   The problem with these methods is that they encourage you to ignore your body, it’s history and what it needs to stay in balance.  Further, they  all assume that your body should be in the same state as when you were twenty.

So, what else can you do? Of course you need to feel better right now – being in pain doesn’t do anyone any good!  But just alleviating the pain won’t help you to avoid future injury, and it certainly won’t help the negative feelings you may have about your aging body.  There are four parts to a more complete solution for injury recovery in people who are getting older.

• Relieve current pain and discomfort : Again, you need to feel better now!  Movement practices like yoga, stretching and self-massage as well as various forms of bodywork are all non-pharmaceutical approaches to pain relief.
• Find gentle, non-judgmental support :  Seek out people who help to support you where you are NOW in your rehabilitation rather than pushing you too hard, too fast.  Your friends, family and even your physical therapist may be encouraging you to bounce back and get back to doing the things you love.  This can be helpful, but could also lead to re-injury.
• Be gentle and non-judgmental to yourself! Understanding where your body is NOW and realizing where your “new normal” is will help you to reconcile dissonance you may have between what you WANT and the reality of your situation.
• Prevent future problems with guided self-care:  One helpful activity is to learn more about your body.  This can help you to have a better understanding of the consequences of body posture, lack of movement and the stresses of various activities.  You can also learn stretches and other types of exercise you can do at home to stay strong.  You might also look into medicated baths and essential oil therapy.  Finally, you might learn about self-massage tools and techniques to keep your muscles healthy.

Amanda has been providing Massage Therapy in the Portland area for five years. She’s seen hundreds of clients and has developed a true sense of what it takes to help people feel good in their bodies. She understands the effects of aging on the body and hopes to help make the aging process for her clients positive.  She has a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies focusing in Feminist Philosophy that helps her to understand the problems that affect people in our culture based on the body they inhabit. She’s taken steps to educate herself further by studying Hawaiian Lomi Lomi massage and Shiatsu.  Amanda greatly enjoys the unique connection that massage therapy creates with her clients.