Why am I still sore?
A question I get asked a lot: Why or how am I still sore? You have been doing your stretches, or maybe some exercises that you were given, and you are still stiff or sore or tense or in pain. Why?! And How?!
Unfortunately there is no quick and easy answer to this.
But I will tell you what I DO know.
When addressing pain, tension, soreness, or dis ease in the body, hardly ever is it because of one factor alone. Often it is a multitude of things. Pain, or tension, or dysfunction is affected by:
Stress levels
Trauma, physical or mental/ emotional
Breath, yes the way you breathe
Movement/ exercise (not enough, or too much)
Muscle patterning and habits
Sleep (or lack of)
Water and food intake
Body temperature regulation
Range of motion exposure
Available tissue stretch/ length
Available strength
Available micronutrients (magnesium, potassium, salt, and others)
Aging
Mindset
Did I say stress!!!!
And even more external or internal factors
At any given time in your life, some of these factors may not be as malleable as others. For example, if you are a new mom, sleep is something relatively out of your control as you navigate the newborn (and sometimes into toddler and beyond) stage(s). So this is where you might scroll down the list and pick one or two things to focus on the change, and integrate to see if that can help change and alleviate some of your pain, tension or whatever your body has going on. You want to start to work with the things that are manageable and within your control to start re-patterning and creating new, more healthier habits that you can integrate and work with.
This will not be an “overnight” switch. Some little movement tweaks, or supplements might be a short term immediate fix, but overall this takes time and energy- and that is why I encourage you to go slowly and address what feels manageable at this time.
So where to start? Again, search the list and pick one or two things that you think you might be lacking. Unsure still? Reach out to myself, or another trusted practitioner and start a conversation around a more lengthy treatment plan. A longer term approach that is going to sustain you for a lifetime.
There will be things relatively out of our control (like the new mom sleep issue, or aging). Aging is something happening to us all, whether you like it or not. It has been proven that over time, skin and soft tissue loses its elasticity and hydration, this is unavoidable, but your mindset or how you do things CAN change and in turn can help your body be more resilient, and help offset some of that pain or stiffness. Maybe you need more breaks in your work day, or maybe you need to learn how to breathe fully to expand through your rib cage. Perhaps you can work on strengthening your core and glutes, or balancing out your tight pecs with some upper back mobility. All of these suggestions are within your grasp and reach, you just have to be open and curious to listen and learn about your body. Having a trusted movement professional or health practitioner is certainly a good place to start, but educating yourself on many of these topics is also a great step one.
All too often people think that they just need to stretch more, or just need to do core work, but really it's a variety of little changes and shifts that will truly provide the change that you need to heal.