In my 35 years of life, I’ve been injured a lot
Deep breath, here goes:
- At age 17, I fractured my left elbow when I fell playing basketball
- At age 19, I partially dislocated my left shoulder doing a backflip on a trampoline
- At age 21, I tore my left ACL pole vaulting
- At age 23, I tore my right ACL playing basketball again
- At age 29, I pulled a muscle badly in my right shoulder
- At age 31, I pinched a nerve in my right neck
(I am sensing a pattern here…)
And those are just the serious ones!
I’ve had countless of twisted ankles, sprained wrists, and minor tweaks to my muscles.
The puzzle is I Love to Play and There is no such thing as risk-free movement
If you look at the timeline above, you can see there was a gap from 23 to 29 years old.
That was when I retired from being an amateur athlete.
My ACL injury effectively ended my athletic career. So I decided then and there, I wasn’t going to push myself anymore. Time to take it as easy, stay as fit as I could and take care of my body.
But, to tell you the truth— my 20s were the least active decade of my life!
What happened?
I just stopped moving altogether
I was playing it so safe, that I didn’t find anything challenging and interesting. I realized I had lost my passion for physical activity
When I realized that in my late 20s, I decided I needed to find the balance to start moving again.
Find the right balance for you
Play often involves taking chances.
Just take a look at any child at the playground.
When they’re there— they are testing their physical limits:
- “How can run I run without falling?”
- “How much can I wrestle and tumble without getting hurt?”
- “How high can I climb before I start feeling too nervous?”
Play is a way for kids to test the boundaries.
And that’s something we can do for ourselves too.
As we get older, we tend to err too much on the site of safety. This makes sense because if we get hurt, it takes us out for longer. We can’t recover as quickly as a child.
But go too far in the safe side, and you might end up feeling bored, disinterested, and unchallenged by your movement.
It’s a balance between going too far in your play verses not exploring and pushing yourself enough.
The One Trick: Plan to Fail (and Fall) Safely
Here’s the thing about moving and exercising.
If you’re doing it correctly:
- You are going to fall
- You are going to get hurt
- You are going to make a mistake
Why?
Because it happens. We miscalculate. We overshoot. It’s all part of the process.
The trick is to plan how you can fall as safely as possible.
Take a look at babies learning to walk
The process involves a lot of trial and error and a lot of falling.
But it also happens in a way that’s very safe.
They are small and very close to the ground, so their falls are not so hard. But there’s still a bit of physical pain from the bump on the ground.
The whole time, their brain (subconsciously) is assessing:
- Is this pain too much?
- Am I going to fast?
- Should I stop and try something else?
The miracle of movement for babies is that this whole process happens without them having to think about it.
In our case, we have to intentionally learn from the process.
For a child, falling can give rise to many questions.
- Is it safer to fall backwards or forwards?
- Does crying get me the support I need?
- Should I try crawling or rolling instead?
As children grow older, the activities become risker— like running on sidewalks or jumping off couches.
When they scrape a knee or bruise their hands, the same process takes place:
- Did that movement lead to TOO much pain?
- Do I need adult help?
- Can I take care of this myself?
Ask yourself questions when you get hurt
When you get hurt, I encourage you to ask
- “What am I learning about my body through this?”
Too often we get hurt and conclude:
- I should completely stop moving to stay safe
This is the wrong answer, and is detrimental to your long term health
Surround yourself with smart support
Back to the children example:
When a kid is playing in the park, and suddenly stumbles and falls- the first thing they’ll do is look to their parents’ to see their reaction.
If their mom panics, looks worried and scared, then the kid will start to cry. But if Mom is able to stay composed, and can encourage the child, “You’re okay- it’s okay.” They’re likely to get up and keep going.
What does this mean for us adults?
Just like the kid in the park, when we’re dealing with an injury or pain we don’t know, we look around for cues.
We might see a doctor who will say, “This is a serious injury, and you will never be able to move the same again.”
How would that make you feel?
- anxious?
- afraid?
- unwilling to move?
- worried about your body?
In a way, the doctor’s statement became a self fulfilling prophecy.
** I’m not going to get into the nuances of how our mind affects our health here. A quick search of ‘placebo’ in health opens up this whole can of worms.
A Practical Tip: Find a Supportive Person who is a Realistic and Positive
Aim to surround yourself with a ‘health team’ that is both smart but also encouraging.
Forever shying away from any challenging activity and movement can hurt your body in the long term.
But having level headed support in your health can help you master fear, build confidence and act as long term safeguards against chronic pain, long-term injury, and disability.
Continue to explore safe places where you can play
In today’s world, it feels like there are fewer chances to take safe risks in exercise and movement.
Everything is either so safe, or so extreme.
While recklessness should be avoided, fearing movement can also be detrimental to overall health and robustness.
The perception of threat underlies various bodily issues, such as pain, fatigue, anxiety, and weakness.
Engaging in risky movements helps cultivate a more resilient self-image. Finding that balance can help you build a healthy sense of capability.