Pain makes you feel 20 years older

BY Ben Hutton

Pain makes you feel old.

+20 years.

That’s what Chrissie* said when I first met her on a cold and miserable September morning. I was chirpy and chipper despite my damp socks and questionable hairdo. Chrissie was not. She said her hip had been feeling like it was ‘violet crumbly’ for 92 days (not that she was counting) and her back had started seizing up in sympathy and thus she had most definitely, without doubt, unequivocally aged 20 years in 3 months. 

What had started out as a niggle, had progressed to annoying and was now in full flight stop-this-ride-I-want-to-get-off agony. 

The pain-aging had started when she noticed that putting on her shoes was a bit iffy. Then with little decorum, she couldn’t sit on the loo without her back yelling at her. 

Life for Chrissie was looking like the weather: dark, sticky and difficult to walk in. There was a hint of panic in the corner of her eyes and body language that suggested that if I asked her to do any exercise- she’d take to me with the long handle…

This is what she asked me:

WHAT IS IT!?

HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE!?

CAN YOU HELP ME!?

I explained the mechanics behind her pain and gave her an outline of the expected timeframe. I then started working on releasing the pressure on her ‘crumbly’ hip and dodgy lower back. She needed some basic, easy to remember (not scary) exercises and thankfully (for me and for her) she walked out with a wide grin and a cautious spring in her step. 6 weeks later, I told her not to come back for 2 months. 

She was unbelievably happy and gave me a high five as she left- ‘THANKYOU’ and also as she walked out the door: ‘GET A HAIR CUT!’ 

If you want to start feeling less pain and get back to your full life- book online now, or call us on 02 4062 8862.