It’s curious the way that we often underestimate the power of the simple things in life. We very readily consider that it’s ‘common sense’ to know that certain things are good for us and that’s generally all that we need to know. Except, and it may not surprise you, that common sense isn’t necessarily common in either volume or consistency.
You see there are a range of beliefs when it comes to behaviours and habits as they relate to our health. It’s not scandalous to say that there are as many different dietary persuasions as there are instagram influencers and it’s potentially not possible to say that there is universal agreement about what ‘good eating’ should look like. Equally, we’re seeing people be particularly brazen about other more technical aspects to health and medicine like pharmaceuticals. There are those in staunch opposition to anything remotely pharmaceutical, and those who expect there to be a pill or a jab to fix each and every ailment. Whilst the truth is always somewhere in the middle, it all stands to prove that the age of information is as much the age of dis-information – where there’s a YouTube video for almost any every task you could ever hope for instruction in.
So what about exercise? Should it be compulsory to sweat, huff and puff or hurt? Should all exercise be avoided for it’s dangers or is exercise for everyone else but you? Funnily enough, again, the answer lies (likely) somewhere in the middle. Science gives us the tools to know what the answer is for each and every individual, and yet how many individuals actually seek out the holders of such knowledge? Certainly not as many as those who give it a go for all of 5 minutes to 5 days before deciding that it’s clearly not ‘for them’. The reality of the power of exercise – not to mention it’s broad safety – is one that continues to unfold with a remarkable sense of positivity. In the same way as we’ve seen breathtaking change in medical advancements of all kinds, the same can be said of the ways and means of applying exercise for therapeutic gain. Yet if we wanted to know more about whether there was a pharmaceutical remedy for our health, you’d see a GP or a pharmacist. But in the case of exercise, Dr Google, an app or your suburban gym instructor seem to be acceptable repositories of therapeutic power, when we would never accept such a thing if we truly understood it’s power.
From stopping Parkinson’s Disease in it’s tracks, to alleviating the suffering secondary to treatment for cancer patients, it goes without saying that exercise can be potent. The most reliable treatment for persistent pain, the only way to change the course of a lung disease’s progress, the best way to subvert the courses of Diabetes – I could go on. In reality, your friendly local exercise physiologist is the perfect professional to help put you in the drivers seat to make ‘exercise’ – however it might look for you – work. They are the professional that harbours this wealth of knowledge and is armed ready to wield it for your benefit. So whether it’s a specific problem you’re having with making exercise work for you, or whether it’s the question of ‘can exercise help at all’, the only question you need to ask is where can I find the right exercise physiologist for me.
And if there’s a Kinetic Medicine near you, we’re ready and waiting for you.