Self-care is not selfish, it's necessary

Self care is one of those words that gets batted around like, wellness and wellbeing. But do you practice it?

We live in an age of information and are bombarded daily with current events and world problems. We live in an age where, if you have children, you’re dropping them off at school and clubs throughout the week then off to work in a rush. Or perhaps you are someone’s carer you are unlikely, to even stop for a minute to relax.

You may be asking yourself, what is self-care? Self-care is the act of taking care of yourself. It is not selfish or greedy, it is merely putting yourself first for a moment and recharge your batteries.

I was a single parent during my last year of military service and my first year out. It was one of the most difficult times of my life. I was solely responsible for getting my son to before-school club, getting to work, picking him up on time (which was no easy feat), feeding him and making sure he got to bed on time with a book – all the while attending college online and in class. I had very little time for myself, and after a while it becomes relentless.

But, even in those times, I took time out. Even if it was the time after I put him to bed and studied to when I went to sleep, often only a half hour or so. Sometimes, I would book annual leave just to have a day to myself while he was at school, just to get food shopping done in peace.

How can we practice self-care? First, you need to make a conscious decision to take time out for yourself. Put it in your diary, make sure you do it daily. It’s not like having a cold and you only need to take medicine while you’re ill, you need to perform acts of self-care daily to make it a habit.

Second, you don’t need to spend money on self-care. There are many things you can do for free.

Third, self-care is about the mind, body and spirit. So mental relaxation, exercise and acts of kindness can go a long way.

Here are some brief ideas on ways to perform acts of self-care:

·         Mini-mediation at lunch time or before bed

·         Mini declutter: pick three things from your wardrobe to donate to charity

·         Unplug from your phone/laptop for an hour – great before bed

·         Remove or mute negative people from your social media feed

·         Dance around your living room

·         Go for a walk outdoors during your lunch hour

·         Make a healthy change in your diet

·         Get 15 minutes of sun – especially in the winter

·         Help someone – open a door, carry some bags, help an old lady across the street

·         Give yourself an hour date – read a book, visit a museum or practice your hobby

By doing these things little, but often you will start to feel more satisfied. It can be difficult working, having children, or being someone’s carer and you need to think about yourself as well.

If you have any questions about sports injuries and rehabilitation please email me at sara@prestigesportinjury.co.uk

The easy answer isn't always the answer

So a wee while ago I read a blog post by Adam Meakins the Sports Physio about the devolving of self-efficacy. Basically we're becoming a society  of people who cannot take care of themselves and healthcare professionals who complicate the process.

Adam is 100% correct. And I felt I needed to write a post expanding upon this with my view.

We are humans and as humans we want to do things in the easiest way possible. We're always looking for the easy answer, the fastest results and what requires the least amount of effort. In one way this makes us very innovative, but on the opposite side of the coin it makes us very lazy. 

When it comes to sports injuries and rehab it is important that the client is on board with their own rehab. If they don't buy into it or aren't ready to help themselves then the whole process is a mute point. Many sports injuries require us as sports therapists or physios to use the biopsychosocial model, which in short means looking at the biology, psychology and social factors of the client. This means it's not just prescribing exercises to help a client, but the client needs help to reduce their stress and ensure their social circle and lifestyle doesn't impede the process. All this equals a lot of work from the client.

Because we're creatures who want the easy answer, most people will see many different professions before realising that most of them are not actually helping. Most seek those who perform manual therapy, which is the most passive of treatments, and means the least amount of work from the individual. However, passive usually doesn't work. So they see a variety of people and then get to a point where they realise they're tired of "treatments" and want to get better. Until a person is ready to make a change efforts to help using exercise and stress relief techniques are futile.

Reliance on passive treatments makes us, well, passive in our own health. Adam points as professionals we need to make sure we're not part of the problem and reassure our clients and not confuse or frighten them. Sometimes a client doesn't need a steroid shot or surgery or even complicated exercises, often simple is best. Obviously, we need to be aware of any red flags when assessing clients, so in the absence of red flags we can proceed as needed.

I'm sure some of my clients have left thinking "Well, that doesn't seem like much." But, I choose the best exercise for what we're trying to accomplish, not the most complicated and cool looking exercises. This may only be 4-5 exercises, maybe less, but less can be more. If a client sees the rehab as a burden that's going to take too much time, they won't do any of the exercises. Short and simple can be the best remedy. I'm not in the business of performing treatments that aren't necessary or try and make something simple sound complicated just to get more work. My clinic is a  no BS zone!

So, if you've been "treated" by a variety of professions and still aren't any better it might be time to seek the help of a professional who won't complicate the problem. If you are suffering from chronic pain there are physios out there who specialise in using the biopsychosocial model to help you help yourself.

If you have any questions about sports injuries or rehab please email me at sara@prestigesportinjury.co.uk