I constantly sprain my right ankle ever since I was 16 and went for a jog with my brother and stepped into a hole trying to cut a corner and catch up with him. No matter how well balanced my body is or how much I do my ankle exercises, I still always roll my ankle. It always seems to happen when I least need it to as well. Sound familiar?
From a physical stand point, a therapist could evaluate a client and determine that he/she has a weakness on one side of the body that continually leads to injury on that one side of the body. But what happens if the client has faithfully done all their stretches and exercises and still continues to injure the same area or side of their body? Do you look at what can be done surgically to stabilize the weak area or have them wear a brace that would restrict their movement causing hypermobility in another area which leads to more problems? Or could there be more to it than the physical body?
Recently, I have been challenging my clients to really listen to their body especially while doing their stretches. Often times I am asked how long to hold a stretch. My suggestion is until a change is felt whether physical or emotional. If an area is not releasing, ask yourself: What lies beneath this tension/pain, What benefit is it to hold on to this, Body, what is it I need to know. Be still and patient in receiving the answers. When all else fails, listen to the heart. Give your heart a voice. Observe trends in your life that haven’t served you well. Below is an example of my own healing journey.
So in search to heal my ankle and figure out what was behind this constant injury, I looked back to the first time I sprained my ankle. How did I feel? How was I treated? How did it impact my life? This was eye opening to present day emotions of needing to suck it up and carry on and trying not to put people out taking care of me which meant pushing myself more than my body needed. I also felt disappointment that the injury even happened. So many things could have been different and altered the course of the life of my right ankle. It wasn’t until I received an emotional release of my ankle tension by a very talented chiropractor, Deb Parker, that I gained strength back in my ankle. If I hadn’t have experienced it, I wouldn’t have believed it.
So in your own healing journey consider all aspects of healing. You never know what is going to help.
