News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Elite athlete or weekend warrior, we all want to perform better on the court or on the road or trail. For many of us, being able to handle a hard day's work in the yard or the garden is just as satisfying as athletic performance.
No matter what our physical demands may be, building strength and resilience are key to improving our performance.
It's not just that being stronger can help you drive a golf ball farther or pedal up a hill faster: Being strong can help you avoid injury. And avoiding injury means you can spend more time training and engaging in your sport or activity - which means you'll get better at it.
Seth Wilkie, a physical therapist at Step & Spine Physical Therapy in Sisters knows a lot about resilience - from a variety of perspectives. As a professional therapist, he knows what the body requires to function at its best. He started down his path toward becoming a physical therapist as a personal trainer, working with people looking to get fitter and stronger. Equally important, he is an athlete who has found a way to manage and recover from injury.
A passionate soccer player, Wilkie played into college. Now he is an avid cyclist and triathlete.
"Athletically, I've had a history of disc injury," he told The Nugget.
To deal with that problem, he "self-treated with a lot of stretching and strengthening. And then understanding about pain. I'll be honest: the strengthening is the bigger deal."
So much depends on simply being strong. Wilkie notes, for instance, that having strong neck muscles can reduce the chance of concussion, because a strong neck is less susceptible to the whiplash action that tosses the brain around in the skull.
Wilkie recommends heavy strength training to build that resilient body. Equally important, he says, is an appropriate progression of your program.
"In other words, be consistent," he said.
There are other elements that come into play that can help a strong person improve function and performance. He teaches people to relax and move - because relaxed motion is more efficient. While he works a lot with people who are trying to recover from injury or a chronic physical impingement, he emphasizes ongoing self-care for his patients.
"I view myself as a guide," he said. "My job is not to fix people, but to help them fix themselves."
While modifying shoe choices or bike fit may be called for in addressing an injury, for injury prevention it is best to keep things simple and not overthink things. If a shoe feels good and fits well, it's probably the right choice for you.
"It's all about comfort footwear choice," Wilkie said.
A body's resilience also has an impact on the way we respond to pain. Pain and our response to it is complicated and somewhat mysterious.
"Having an injury and being in pain are two different things," Wilkie said.
It's not a simple mind-over-matter proposition - but what is in your mind can have an impact on your experience of pain. A resilient body gets used to being under stress that can be uncomfortable and painful.
And "self-talk matters in pain sensitivity and performance," Wilkie said. "Pain is not a reflection of the status of the tissue. Pain is a reflection of you as a whole - mind, body and spirit. All of it matters, all the time."
Activity builds resilience; being strong helps us stay active. So, the key to fitness, well-being, and improving our performance is to work hard to become Sisters Strong.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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