July is Injury Prevention Month

At Complete Wellness Clinic, we help a lot of people who have been injured: physically, mentally and /or emotionally. We make a big difference in people’s lives every day who are in pain. Fortunately, more and more people are realizing lifelong injury prevention is paramount to our complete wellness.

*Physically, when things are feeling slightly “out” or so tight you are changing your activities and declining invitations to do what you love to do because of fear of injury, it may be time to make some changes.

Do you find yourself declining invitations for exciting activities? When was the last time you rode a bicycle? Gone for a hike? Walked around the golf course instead of taking the cart? Have you bounced on a trampoline lately? How about scrambling up a rock or swinging on a swing?

There is a common misconception that reduced activity and physical capability is an inevitable part of normal aging. And there is definitely some truth to that. On the upside, the choices you make can speed up or slow down that process considerably. The thing is, there are many many healthy, active older adults who are very physically active and continue to do the things they love to do. It is not always a case of “good genetics”. Injury prevention is, in many ways, about having the strength, flexibility and mindset to manage the shocks to our systems that happen in everyday life.

You make choices every day. If the choices you make don’t include maintaining your strength and flexibility, it has the effect of slowly closing in the world and reducing what you can do in the future. On the other hand, choosing to stay active, strong and flexible can help ensure you can continue to do the things you love to do. The younger you are, the earlier you can start choosing and building healthy life-long habits.

For sure, there are times when injury happens, or illness unfairly attacks an unsuspecting victim. Whatever condition you find yourself in, further injury prevention is about making the decision to love yourself enough to take care of yourself. Think about the stories we have all heard about someone who has a traumatic injury and has bounced back stronger than ever. Or the person that has been given a diagnosis and gone on to live a much more active and enjoyable life longer than anyone expected. Among the success factors that are common in those stories are that they have a positive vision for themselves, a plan for how to recover and they do the work to move towards their vision.

Emotionally, when you are not in a good place, you can self-limit and decline invitations as well. I invite you to RE-read those previous paragraphs and put “mentally” in place of “physically” , “mental” in place of “physical” and “mind” in place of “body”. *

When your world shrinks beyond your control, when injury does happen, or when you have chronic pain that isn’t going anywhere, we at Complete Wellness Clinic can help you. We can also help you to maintain wellness, prevent injuries and work towards your vision.

So for injury prevention month, this July, take steps towards a healthier, more emotionally and physically fit YOU, and prevent injury and grow your world experience instead of shrinking it.

Tamara J. Brady, BA, BScPT, RMT
Registered Massage Therapist
Complete Wellness Clinic
450 Bronte St S, Milton Ontario
905-875-2288