There is an expression, “Shooting yourself in the foot”. This is defined as “doing something, without intending to, which spoils a situation for yourself.” It is to make a mistake that harms you in some fashion. It comes from a phenomenon that became fairly common during the First World War. We can all do things and have habits that bring us harm- the problem is that when we are not conscious of them then we have no ability to correct our behaviour or change our situation.
Last week I had a patient come in and tell me that she has been suffering from persistent pain in her elbow. She was worrying that she was getting tennis elbow. She doesn’t play tennis and was wondering if this was a side effect to some of the medications she was on- that they were creating joint pain. She then realized that she had started a new job 4 months before and had never really assessed her work station, other than to set her chair at the appropriate height. She looked and realized that the arm rests were set well below her arm and not providing any support. She adjusted these and the “tennis elbow” went away!
How often do we suffer symptoms or disease because of an unconscious pattern in how we use our body? Carrying a heavy purse- always on the same side, sitting with poor posture or legs always crossed, looking down at our cell phone, sleeping on our stomachs… the list is endless. It is important to be “body aware” to notice when we are stressing particular areas. I can be just as guilty as the next person.
I have some mild arthritis in my right knee from an old injury. I barely think about it and have learned to accommodate for it. Unfortunately, one of my “accommodations” was to favour it going up and down stairs. This led me to putting significant additional weight on my left ankle and created a left ankle problem and developing a limp from that foot! Subsequently, I have had to get treatment for my left ankle, and to properly address my right knee and do specific exercises for it so that I stop favouring it and displacing the stress to other places.
We can avoid needless suffering if we take time to be “self aware”, to listen to our bodies and respond to their needs. Network Care and SRI help you to assess your body’s tension patterns. It is Valentine’s this month, make time for self care! If you don’t take care of yourself, you may be “shooting yourself in the foot”!