Health is Not Just About You

Something I have said to my patients..

“Your health is not just about you.”

I started delivering this message from a mix of my own personal experience, my beliefs and values on healthcare, and from seeing enough cases where patients struggle. 

If you are unwell, your loved ones watch you hurt and they hurt with you. Whether it’s cancer, diabetes, or the pain of arthritis limiting your ability to play with your kids. 

Taking care of your people means looking out for your long term good. These standards cannot be compromised. Help out 10 year future you. The best time to start was years ago. The next best is today.

Nobody wants health problems. But your actions may say you do. Smoking, fast food, no exercise. The biggest win I can have as a clinician is a follow up email a year later saying you still carry the habits we talked about. Whether that be exercise or lifestyle tips. You are always moving your health needle. Are you moving forwards or back? 

I often get a couple phrases which bother me. 

“I am just getting older” 

• I have had people in their 20s say this to me. Stop. Be accountable. Apply yourself.

• It is a negative attitude that puts the blame on external factors. That will never be effective for change.

“I don’t have time and I’m not a gym person” 

• Look at your calendar and your bank statement, that will tell everything you need to know about your priorities.

• I don’t give a fuck if you are not a gym person. Either still exercise in the other million ways or go twice a week and hate it but do it anyway because your health matters and build your willpower towards discomfort.

I had a back injury when I was young. I turned into an absolute nightmare to be around. Irritable, angry, upset. I was like the cartoon western guy they got rid of in bugs bunny all the time. 

My dad and sister had to watch me unravel. For a year. I was a bad friend. I lost myself.

I have seen some older patients who go to more appointments than I go to work. Life turned into a revolving door of tests, assessments, concern for themselves and their families. The regret on their face is palpable. Devastating.

Some things are a reverse lottery. Every bad choice and lifestyle behavior habit have an impact over time. When you make enough bad choices, these lottery tickets add up. The prize? Immobility, pain, or even worse, conditions that will forever affect your family and friends. 

If I could put a billboard up with my thoughts around physiotherapy/healthcare and what it means to me, this is what I would put. 

“If I cannot help you change your habits, I cannot help you”

My best treatment, my best exercise prescription will always fail if it does not become a common place in your life far after you leave my service. Taking care of your body needs to be like brushing your teeth. You don’t need to love it. You just need the discipline, the understanding that the alternative is fucking disgusting.