Your body is not like a machine.
Your body does not wear out like an old car.
Your body does not need replacement parts.
Your body is a stress adaption cycling system.
When you apply stress or load to the body, the body begins to make changes to adapt to that load.
Weight lifters, walkers, and marathon runners have denser bones than sedentary people because of the adaptation to the demands of their activity
Women with OA (Osteoarthritis) of the knee who participated in a higher load rehabilitation program developed higher quality patellar cartilage and better function due to stressing the body and allowing adaptation to that stress to occur.
(Koli J, Multanen J, Kujala UM, Häkkinen A, Nieminen MT, Kautiainen H, Lammentausta E, Jämsä T, Ahola R, Selänne H, Kiviranta I, Heinonen A. Effects of Exercise on Patellar Cartilage in Women with Mild Knee Osteoarthritis. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2015)
This principle, that the body will adapt to demands placed upon it to become more durable, is the fundamental tenant of rehabilitation.
Injuries occur when the threshold that a tissue is able to withstand stress is surpassed.
The readiness of the tissue was not equal to the demands of the task.
Reducing pain, and improving performance is all about increasing the capacity of the tissues to withstand stress and load to a threshold above the demands of your daily activities or sport.
Reaching this higher tissue threshold to prevent injury is achieved through intelligent progressive loading and training programs to ensure enough stress is present to trigger adaptation, but recovery is adequate to prevent overloading and injury.
So, get out there and start walking, start some resistance training, and start living a more functional life with less pain.
If you need help along the way, I’m here to help