A common question patients have when they come to our office is, "why does it hurt?" Often times, when prompted, a patient may not be able to recall anything they did that may have caused the pain.
More often than not, pain arises not from one particular thing, but from a combination of many things that happen to the body over time.
Approximately 84,000 generations ago, human beings were primarily hunter-gathers. We roamed the land in search of food and supplies for our very survival. During this time, we used our body all day long; pushing, pulling, squatting, lunging, lifting, twisting, walking, and running. The joints and muscles of the body are made to perform these complex and coordinated movements regularly.
However, over the years as human civilization formed, we moved into the agricultural age which placed new demands upon the way we moved our bodies. In the 19th century, we graduated into yet another stage of human movement, the Industrial Revolution.
Now the emphasis of movement became heavy and repetitive work. This new stress on the human frame forced people to work harder and placed greater demands on the joints and muscles causing new problems to arise. As we progressed through the 20th century, the physical strain on people's bodies resulted in most aches and pains.
Then, two generations ago, another dramatic shift in how we used our bodies happened; The Digital Age! As technology increased and occupations shifted toward office and computer-based jobs, people found themselves primarily sitting.
As it turns out, sitting is the most damaging position for the human spine, and we do a lot of it. If we combine the amount of sitting we do at work, watching tv, surfing the internet, or the time spent on computers, it amounts to a whopping 13 hours a day of sitting! Add to that the 7-8 hours of sleep we get a night, and we find that we spend most of time each day very inactive!
One more piece of this puzzle will help illuminate why so many hurt; when you combine that level of inactivity with the fact that most people don't actively workout or pursue fitness, we are greatly misusing our bodies every day!
The human body was made to move! If you don't use it you lose it! We now have a body that is made to move and perform at high levels that never gets to be used. That's like having a top notch performance sports car that never gets driven.
Lastly, bad nutrition, poor posture, a lack of sleep, and too much stress overwhelm the body also. It's no wonder your body hurts or your health is suffering. We simply aren't using or taking care of our bodies they way nature intended.
So the next time something hurts and you can't think of a specific thing that caused it, perhaps there are many reasons why you hurt.
Being in pain doesn't have to be the story of your life and neither does poor health! If you have a problem, there's a good chance we may be able to help. Give us a call today at (814) 371-7211 and schedule a visit.
Until next time! Take care and be well!