THE GAME OF LIFE

There are a few things inevitable in life.

Death.  Taxes.  The return of pain.

While many of us can come to accept the first two, when pain returns it often throws us for a loop.  The initial thoughts go something like this:

“I did something wrong.”
“I must have made something worse.”
“I just undid all my work over the last 6 months.”
“I will never get better/back to where I want to be.”
“This will likely require surgery, injections or some voodoo magic during the winter solstice performed by the world’s best shaman to truly be fixed.”

Before we go deep into negative thoughts, or spending lots of money flying out some man or woman we do not know, let’s remind ourselves of a few things.

Flares are expected and may happen to 90% of people in rehab.
Pain is not a reliable indicator of tissue state.
Pain is not a punishment.
You cannot lose gains in strength, aerobic capacity, or anything else instantly because your pain returned.
The winter solstice is only good to let us know it is almost christmas.

So how can we come to terms with this?  Let’s think of the game of chutes and ladders and more specifically, think about the board of this game.  As you start your adventure we are all hoping to land on that big ladder that shoots us up the board with a win all but guaranteed in our future.  You know EXACTLY the ladder I am talking about.  40 spaces seemingly skipped in a heartbeat.  The glory.  The joy.  But, wait a minute…

There is also that big chute that sends us tumbling back down to the bottom of the board.  And you know EXACTLY the chute I am talking about.  Just like that…we lose all those spaces we just gained.  Damnit.

Now if you are like me, whenever you hit the big ladder, you undoubtedly landed on the big chute shortly after.  After a moment of frustration and anger and sometimes tears (give me a break I was only 32 when I last played this game) what did we all do next.

Roll.  Again.

That’s it.  We picked ourselves up and continued to play, knowing that the big ladder was again in our sights.

Here is what did not happen, even when we landed on the big chute, we never went back to “square one”.  In fact there is no chute in the game that does that.  No game does that!  When you begin a game you literally cannot go back to square 1 – there is always progress from your first move.  There is always a chance of recovering and getting “back in the game” quickly.

It is the same thing with pain.  It is often normal for there to be a lot of quick gains for starting a rehab or strength or conditioning program.  The setbacks are simply a part of the game.  They do not mean we cannot roll again.  They do not mean we cannot quickly recover, but they definitely mean that it is normal to feel like the game is over or everything was all for nothing when they happen.

So, take a breath.  Take a look at your board. 
And roll.  Again.