Patient: “Doctor, doctor, it hurts when I do this”
Doctor: “Well don’t do that then …”

It may be a very old joke but there’s also wisdom in it! I’ve had a recurring injury in my shoulder over the past few months. I’ve seen a variety of different health professionals (doctor, osteopath and chiropractor) and they’ve all helped this injury in some way, however the pain keeps coming back. I then heard this joke above again and had another thought, be ready it’s going to seem really obvious … perhaps I’m not giving my shoulder a chance to heal? I was still carrying on exercise which indirectly was pulling on my shoulder which meant I would often feel a small twinge during the workout. So the solution seems to be if it hurts stop doing it! However, it’s not always that easy to see the connection or even notice the pain, particularly over longer periods of time. This is not only the case with physical pain, it can also be with emotions, habits or other circumstances. For example, getting caught up in negative gossip? Stop, change the subject! Bickering with the kids? Just stop it, don’t do it! Had enough of your job? Take action, look for another one. Injured shoulder … stop aggravating it!

I know it may not always be easy to just stop at times but just being aware of the situation and noticing what’s going on can make a big difference and help to make the change, stopping is often easier than we think.

Thanks for reading and comments much appreciated!

Simon