The Wrong Advice - “Just Rest”
The 60-year-old woman sitting across from me has heard it all before. "Rest." "Take it easy." "Stop doing activities that hurt." After years of following this well-intentioned but incomplete advice, she's not just dealing with hip and back pain – she's struggling with a loss of confidence in her own body's abilities.
She doesn't need more rest. She needs to learn how to move with confidence again, understand her biomechanics, and build strength strategically. Her story is one we see play out every week in our clinic, and it reveals a fundamental problem in how we think about pain and movement.
The Rest Trap: How Good Intentions Lead to Long-term Problems
It typically starts innocently enough: a sudden back spasm or sharp neck pain leads to a visit at urgent care. The standard protocol follows – anti-inflammatory medication, muscle relaxers, and those familiar words: "take it easy for a few days."
This advice isn't wrong, but it's incomplete. Without a clear plan to resume activity, those few days of rest can spiral into weeks, then months, and sometimes even years. What begins as a temporary solution becomes a permanent limitation. Think about it: When was the last time someone told you to rest, but also gave you a specific plan for getting back to activity?
This gap between "rest" and "return to activity" is where many people get stuck. And it's not just about the physical act of movement – it's about understanding when and how to move safely.
The Movement Paradox: Why "Good" and "Bad" Movements Aren't That Simple
This brings us to a crucial understanding: movement optimism tells us there are no inherently bad movements – only ones we're underprepared for. Yet traditional medical advice often suggests stopping any movement that causes pain. The truth? It lives in the complex space between these extremes.
Consider something as simple as bending to pick something up. Is it "good" or "bad"? The answer isn't in the movement itself, but in the entire context surrounding it. Your current strength and conditioning with that specific movement, your past experiences with movement and pain, your stress levels, even your nutrition and recovery state – all these factors shape how your body responds.
This complexity explains why the same movement can feel different on different days, or why one person's "dangerous" movement is another's daily activity. It's not about the movement in isolation – it's about the context that surrounds the movement.
Understanding Your Body's Language: Beyond Simple Pain Signals
When we respond to all pain with complete rest, something concerning happens: The painful area and surrounding muscles gradually weaken. Your brain's connection to these areas begins to fade - yes, your brain literally maintains a map of your body. It's like a path in the woods; without regular use, it becomes overgrown and harder to navigate.
This explains why after periods of inactivity, basic movements can feel strange and uncoordinated. A simple squat, cat-cow or gentle stretch might feel ratchety and uncertain, like you're moving in someone else's body. This isn't because you're "broken" - or doing the movement "wrong" – it's because your body and brain need to rebuild their communication pathways and strengthen the surrounding tissues.
Breaking the Fear Cycle: From Avoidance to Confidence
Perhaps the most damaging aspect of the "just rest" advice isn't physical – it's psychological. When we're told to avoid movements that cause pain, without understanding why or for how long, we develop fear. This fear of movement (what medical professionals call "kinesiophobia") can become more limiting than the original pain.
Consider this: If you sprained your ankle, would you expect to never walk again? Of course not. You'd expect a recovery process. The same principle applies to other types of pain – we need to rebuild our confidence through guided, progressive movement.
The solution isn't to ignore pain or push through it recklessly. Instead, we need to reframe how we think about movement and pain. Pain is information, not always a warning to stop completely. Through proper guidance, you can learn to distinguish between harmful and therapeutic discomfort, build strength and mobility gradually, and develop confidence in your body's abilities.
Building a New Relationship with Movement
This is where our role as practitioners becomes crucial. We don't simply declare movements "safe" or "unsafe." Instead, we help you understand the complete picture of your pain and function. By understanding the context of your pain, building the physical capacities you need, creating positive movement experiences, and developing strategies for long-term success, we help you rebuild not just strength, but confidence in your body's abilities.
Remember that 60-year-old woman? With proper guidance and support, she's now back to gardening, playing with her grandchildren, and living life on her terms. Pain shouldn't hold you back from the life you want to live – sometimes you just need the right guide to help you move forward.