Rest Makes Rusty
You may not feel like moving when you hurt, but it's the key to recovery
Roger Pack, DPT, PT, OCS
3/4/20241 min read
Having lived with people who experience chronic pain and helping others learn to control theirs, the one thing I wish they would use as their manta is, "Motion is lotion and rest makes rusty."
Our body adapts to the stresses placed upon it. If you treat it like a body that hurts, you will hurt more and be able to do less. Often it's because you are stiffer and weaker, not because your problem is getting worse. You will be able to do more with less pain if you stay active.
A client of mine with back pain decided to rest up and take it easy a few months before a planned trip to Europe. When they arrived in Europe and had to carry luggage, walk a lot more than normal, and sleep in strange beds - things they weren't used to - their pain flared up significantly and they had to come home early. No wonder their back pain flared up! Motion is lotion and rest makes rusty. They would have done much better if they had been more active and done a general strengthening program for a few months prior to the trip.
Rest makes us rusty, like this old truck. If you have a newer model, or even a 'classic' one, it will run better and last longer if you keep up on the preventative maintenance and take it out on the road.