Three Minutes to A Pain Free Life

My back started hurting about a month ago for no real obvious reason. At first I thought it was due to my revised workout routine during my rehabilitation for a shoulder injury. I figured the pain would go away. But it didn’t. It stuck around day after day, week after week. It was an odd pain in that it only showed up when I was sitting and leaning forward. I started to worry. I take care of a lot of patients with chronic back pain, and I really didn't want to go down that road. I wanted to find something I could do to make my body feel better. I went on a search for a plan, and I found it in a book called Three Minutes to a Pain Free Life by Joseph Weisberg and Heidi Shink. If you have musculoskeletal pain, or if you just want to avoid the “getting old” aches and pains, I think the information from this book will help you too. The book is not a miracle cure. It is essentially a change in philosophy about musculoskeletal pain. Did you realize that 59 years ago we believed a human set of teeth only lasted about 60 years? As a result, most people ended up with dentures around that age. Then we discovered preventive dental care with brushing, flossing and yearly dental check-ups. Today, the use of dentures has decreased dramatically because we’ve changed our thoughts on teeth. I’m Not as Young as I Used to Be The same is true for the musculoskeletal system. As we get older, we tend to accept we will have more aches and pains, we will become less flexible, and we will not be able to do the things we could when we were younger. How many times have you heard someone say, “I’m not as young as I used to be”? Realistically, we don’t have to give in to the aches and pains associated with aging. We just need to implement a maintenance program for our muscles and joints - particularly for our back. Dr. Weisberg recommends doing a three minute routine every day that will help build your back muscles and keep your other joints in shape. As we go through our lives, we put our body through quite an array of trauma. These micro-traumas add up over time until eventually something major happens – your back goes out as you reach for a piece of paper on the floor. When your back goes out, it’s not because you bent over to pick up the paper. It’s because of all the repetitive microtrauma your back has had over the years. Avoid Chronic Pain The musckuloskeletal system has an amazing ability to heal itself if the proper maintenance program is in place. I started Dr. Weisberg’s three minute program two weeks ago, and the back pai I was having is now about 90 percent gone. At first, doing the program actually made my back hurt worse. It takes a little time to get used to the system. But now, I am a firm believe in the system. If you want to spend your life Living Every Minute, you have to keep your body healty, fit, and flexible. If you want to learn the exact steps of the 3 minute program, I encourage you to check out Dr. Weisberg’s book. [Ed. Note: Dr. Tim's book, Health Plan for Life, gives more great tips on preventative healthcare for your entire body. To purchase a copy of the book, visit his website.]