What is the "TRUE" Medicine?

Date Published: Monday April 3rd, 2023
Written By: Ryan Brunelle

As Society has told us, "Movement is Medicine." Therefore if you are to engage in some type of physical activity on a regular basis for about 60min/day over the course of your lifetime you are putting yourself in the best possible situation to live a long healthy life. I always believed in "Movement is Medicine" until my battle with Scoliosis commenced.

For my entire life, I have been active and engaging in several types of physical activities mainly through playing basketball. I played competitive basketball for majority of my childhood and was always trying to stay active as much as possible since society promotes the narrative "Movement is Medicine." 

Over the course of the last 2 years, what I went through with my Scoliosis has only led me to questioning myself, "Is Movement really Medicine?" If Movement was Medicine and like I have already mentioned, I am very active and avoid living a sedentary lifestyle, why is it that I developed so many issues in relation to my Scoliosis, that eventually had me living in a suffering state for several months when I was always active as a kid?

Throughout this SPA BLOG post, I will be discussing my opinion on why I believe "Movement is Medicine” depending on what type of Movement you are engaging in on a regular basis. While the narrative "Therapy is Medicine", is what I believe is the true medicine to solving problems and of course preventing problems from becoming one in the first place.

Movement is key to living a healthy active lifestyle. Over the last few decades, studies have shown, engaging in some type of physical activity on a regular basis can help improve posture, muscle tension, joint pain and flexibility. Movement can benefit all age groups. Studies have shown as you age, participating in a form of aerobic exercise has shown improvement in overall brain health and thinking skills. This can help lower the chances of you suffering from memory loss. In addition, exercise can be a great boost for your Mental Health. Exercise has also shown to be a positive form of Medicine for those who are suffering from a Mental Health related illness.

During the summer months of 2018, 2019 and 2020. I worked as a Merchandiser with Coca Cola Canada Bottling Limited. This Job is a very physical job, which consists of a lot of lifting and pulling the product from the backroom to the floor to restock the shelves, coolers and displays. While working in this position, I can recall a numerous amount of times, where I was not practicing good posture and not taking care of my body after a long day of work. Working a physical Job does not guarantee you will develop any problems, however, for my current condition living with Scoliosis, it very likely did not help my situation.

There are so many positive benefits from engaging in some type of physical activity over the course of your lifetime. However, here is why I believe Movement is only Medicine, depending on what type of Movement you are engaging upon, on a regular basis. Millions of people worldwide have chose a career path that requires them to constantly work with their body (also known as a physical job). Now given the fact society promotes "Movement is Medicine", working a physical job should then be considered under this category. Working a physical job while you are young, usually has no side effects, besides some aches and pains from a hard days work. As you get older and you decide to continue working through these aches and pains you are dealing with on a regular basis, these minor issues can lead to permeant problems if not taken seriously when they first arise.

Now you may ask, why or how can these minor aches and pains get worse over time? Majority of physical jobs may have workers moving around a lot, working with their hands and lifting heavy objects on a regular basis. With these requirements potentially sounding of no harm initially, majority of the time these required actions take a toll on the body long term, which may increase your chances of developing permanent problems as you age. Your body can only take so much Movement that is not actually Medicine given the fact it may lead to you living in a situation that is very uncomfortable or maybe even difficult for you to perform your regular daily tasks.

Here is my argument why you can't go wrong with "Therapy is Medicine." Ever since I started engaging in Therapy to help prevent further progression of my Scoliosis, I have already seen life changing results. Before starting Therapy, I was participating in competitive basketball for majority of my childhood. I never seeked any Therapy, besides a couple times when I suffered a sprained ankle. I was always told to "toughen up", "just deal with the pain" or "your young, you don't have to worry about it until you are older." Having a strong drive to compete and work hard is the mindset I developed as a kid and it only took me so far before I started experiencing so many symptoms in relation to my Scoliosis.

Seeking Therapy has not just changed my condition in my battle with Scoliosis, but it has also changed my Mindset, believing that "Therapy is Medicine." To date, I actually rarely play basketball anymore. The main reason will always have to do with my breathing restriction, however, majority of my Movement I engage in now a days consists of stretching, foam rolling, therapy routines and of course my Scoliosis related exercises. 

A huge change that has also positively impacted my battle with Scoliosis is putting aside the weights and strictly just focusing on therapy and my Scoliosis related exercises. While playing competitive basketball, I used to workout 5-6 days a week, going through many different types of exercises such as squats, deadlifts and lunges on a weekly basis. To date, I have stopped performing these exercises and have adapted to exercises that put less strain on the spine and overall upper body in general.

The exercises I just mentioned above, are actually more for your legs with a strong focus on targeting the lower body. However, with the main focus leading to positive results in the lower body, long term, performing these exercises can potentially lead to problems in the upper body if performed excessively and incorrectly over time.

Now to make it clear, if performed correctly, there is no true evidence that performing any of these exercises in general can lead to any problems with your upper or even lower body long term. However, it is important to know that you can build muscle and continue to get stronger by engaging in other types of exercises that are safer, put less strain on the spine and are just as effective in seeing positive results long term.

....

Scoliosis Terminology Further Explained

Follow SPA Merchandise on our Social Media Platforms, to stay up to date with the latest postings, news and Information on Scoliosis.

INSTAGRAM   TWITTER   PINTEREST   SNAPCHAT   FACEBOOK   
YOUTUBE