Do you brush your teeth twice a day?

All of you reading this probably do brush your teeth every day, we need them to chew, eat, and speak right! Our teeth are a very important system and, like all other body systems, if we don't take care of them we'll run into a problem.  We would all agree that prevention is the best, most cost effective way to care for our teeth.  Why's it different for our musculoskeletal system? Why is there such resistance to take care of that?

Everyone knows that we should exercise.  Research shows that physical activity has an association with decreasing the risk of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, obesity, metabolic syndrome, diverticulitis, endometrial cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer...should I keep going...depression, coronary heart disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease...OK, you get the picture.  None of those are even in the musculoskeletal system!!!  

"You go to the Dentist couple times a year to make sure you're teeth are straight and you just eat and speak with them. Here's our whole body that we need to do everything and we don't go to an expert to make sure it's functioning as optimally as it can."                  -Dr. Shirley Sahrmann

Almost all musculoskeletal pain is of musculoskeletal in origin.  This means that very rarely the pain that you feel is coming from something other than muscles, bones, or connective tissues (ligaments, tendons, etc).  Taking pain medication or anti-inflammatories MAY help temporarily with that, but if the cause of the problem isn't addressed it will probably reoccur at some point.  This is why it's incredibly important to have an expert on your side who is able to do a thorough evaluation and determine the cause of the problem to help you fix it so it doesn't return.  Contrarily, if it does return you'll have the tools to eliminate it.  Remember, quality of movement can be as important as quantity of movement.

We all know that there are 100 different ways and ideas on how to keep your back, neck and hips better.  Most of the ideas come from a personal experience or what worked for a friend; however, no two people are alike and what helps one person might not help another.  Most will only seek out care for their musculoskeletal system only after they are in pain, have had no luck with their friends suggestion, or google couldn't help them.  Take the initiative to invest in your body and prevent future problems as much as you invest in your car, boat, or house...remember, you only get one body.  Like Benjamin Franklin said    "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."  Integrated Rehab will focus on the root of the cause and provide you with ways to prevent future problems.