The Anatomy of a Pattern

The anatomy of a pattern:

Injury

You are young so you shake it off, no worries

You get into your 20’s, reoccurrence of injury, but you are still young so you shake it off again, maybe medicate or alcohol assist, besides you are too busy with life to be troubled with occasional pain/discomfort. You put it off as one of those things you will take care of when you have the time.

You make it to your 30’s, kids and their commitments, work and its commitments, relationship and its commitments, no time for you to address this issue yet.

You get to your 40’s, your back goes out every 3-6-18 months or so. It lays you up for a week or so, but what can you expect, you are in your 40’s now after all. You see a chiropractor, which helps. Except the frequency, duration and severity of each episode is increasing.

In your 50’s you finally accept it as part of growing older, you slow down, you stop fighting, you buy cool shoes or arch supports, a new mattress, a massage chair, you see the chiropractor, maybe you broke down and had that surgery, you have become intimately familiar which medications you can mix with alcohol, you can name 6 different muscle relaxation medications, you can also name the same number of pain killers, maybe you have tried three or four anti-depressants, …you are likely on other medications for other issues as well, maybe heart meds, blood pressure meds, a pill here and there to counter the side effects of the all the meds you are on, .. .

I am not saying all of this is a direct result of an ankle sprain you suffered when you were 13 years old, …

Or can it be? All too often the issues I find myself treating are childhood injuries that were never properly addressed.
The million-dollar question, is it too late? Maybe yes, but maybe no.