By Dr. Josh

Resiliency means to withstand or recover quickly from setbacks and challenges. For my patients, resiliency means bouncing back from a bout of neck pain faster, or enduring 6 hours of pickleball a week without aggravating their knees or hips like they used to.

Resiliency can be built many ways

When I consult with a new patient in Kanata, I am playing detective and searching for clues as to how we can make them feel better and become more resilient. We look for functional issues, painful areas, and weak spots that we can address and improve. We also look for the things that they are doing well and create a plan to continue to build on those.

Most of us know we will be healthier if we move more, eat better and sleep better, but as a parent with a one-year old, I fully understand that it is easier said than done. My job as a chiropractor is to work with my patients to create an effective and achievable plan for getting out of pain and becoming more resilient.

The impact of chiropractic on resiliency

A common goal for patients is to comfortably play on the floor with their kids or grandkids. Many patients are worried that their back pain, leg pain, or weakness is going to stop them from achieving this goal. Consistently, we’ve been able to create a plan that gets patients moving better with less pain so they can confidently get down on the floor and back up without issue. We also lay out the steps that will keep them moving well and playing on the floor for decades to come.

Building resiliency is a great way to reduce injury risk and improve function at every age. As we age, a loss of muscle and strength often causes a loss in independence. Many people end up in retirement homes simply because they don’t have the strength to get up from the toilet on their own. Creating and executing a plan to build physical resiliency early in life can help avoid this unfortunate outcome.

Many athletes see me when they are injured with their goal being to return-to-play. This is a fantastic goal, but requires more than simply getting out of pain. These athletes often need strengthening, mobilization, and support while they ease back into their favourite activities. Effective return-to-play (at every age) is something we provide at Highlands Wellness and Sports Injury Clinic.

Resiliency for me

I think it’s important as a healthcare provider to practice what I preach.

I was in school for 8 years to become a chiropractor, and during the summers I planted trees in Northern Ontario and Alberta. Over the course of 6 years of tree planting I’m proud to have planted over 1 million trees. Ensuring I took care of my body, exercised regularly, and built the strength and endurance necessary to avoid injury was crucial in allowing me to succeed at this grueling job (check out the Highlands Wellness Instagram for a throwback video to when I was still living in the woods planting trees).

The school was draining mentally and the tree planting was physically exhausting, but building resiliency let me endure both and now I get to do my dream job and help others build the same resiliency I’ve come to appreciate. 

These days my goals have shifted from planting trees or sitting at desks - I want to be able to play with my kids (and maybe one day grandkids) right up until the day I die. I’m trying to put in the work now, confident it will pay dividends when I’m in my later years.

If pain is slowing you down, and building resiliency seems like a good idea, get in touch. We can make a plan that gets you where you want to go.