Why It’s Important to Be Proactive About Your Health

You know you need to take care of your health, but have you ever stopped to consider why it’s so important? I am Lauren Masi, a physical therapist and board certified orthopedic clinical specialist. I’m also the owner and clinical services director of Bay Area Physical Therapy and Lafayette Physical Therapy. Today, we’re going to talk about why it’s important to be proactive about your health. 

The bottom line is that you only have one body, so you might as well take care of it, right? We want to stay active well into our older years. If you have grandchildren on the horizon that you want to be playing with, or if you want to be playing a sport well into your older age, it all starts now. 

Don’t Wait Years to Seek Help for Physical Struggles

Something we often hear when clients come in for care is that they’ve had a problem for a year or more, sometimes 10 years, and they’re like, “Oh, and I need to fix it by tomorrow,” or, “I’m going on this trip, and I need to be able to walk 10 miles a day through the cobblestone of Europe.” 

And unfortunately, I am very candid in saying, I can’t get you better that fast. There’s no magic pixie dust. As much as I want you to get back to full function quickly, the longer you’ve had an issue, the longer it takes to heal. 

Also, depending on the tissues that are affected, sometimes they’re very easy to irritate. For example, nerves are super easy to irritate. You might’ve only had some kind of trauma for one day or a week of bad posture, and all of a sudden your nerve is irritated for months and months. That’s why we definitely want to make sure that we provide you with the education to know when it’s time to step in and do something, and not to wait too long. 

Physical Therapists Are Here to Provide Education and Alleviate Pain

When it comes to physical therapy, we want to alleviate your pain to get you back to function as quickly as possible. That means you should see us as soon as you notice something is painful or not working as well. 

And if things are not improving within about a week of you paying attention and trying to make some changes on your own at home, then reach out to a healthcare provider. For example: 

• If it’s harder for you to go up the stairs and now you’re catching yourself stepping together on each step instead of one foot over the other like you used to
• If you can’t get in and out of your chair without using your hands 
• If your mile time is increasing and you don’t really know why

As physical therapists, we can help control that pain so you can be more comfortable and get back to your usual activities. We can give you exercises, including stretching and strengthening, to help you improve your movement and function. And we can help you figure out what might’ve caused you to end up there in the first place to prevent it from happening again. 

Schedule a Consultation at Bay Area PT

Physical therapy can help you get better after an injury, but it can also help you prevent injury and maintain your ability to move as you get older. 

If you’re interested in figuring out how you can be more proactive about your health, reach out to our front desk at (925) 284-3840 and set up a complimentary consultation today.