Active Rehab Mini Series: Why Your Body Hurts Even If You Are Active and Exercising (Part 1)

I was fairly lucky in that my body never endured major injury (other than soft tissue injuries I sustained from a motor vehicle accident when I was 23). After rehabbing from the MVA, I was pretty much pain free. Then, I had a baby and, all parents can agree that carrying a clingy baby around for 10+ hours a day can wreak havoc on your body. A few years later, I started training for organized runs. I was racking up hundreds of kilometres preparing for my races all the while, my body was aching. Hips, shoulders, neck and I started to develop plantar fasciitis-like symptoms.

I discovered a few years ago that I had an anterior pelvic tilt on my right side. This means that one side of my hip was tipped forward, due to muscular imbalance, most likely due to the stress of running, as well as repetitive everyday, functional activities (like sleeping and carrying babies around).

This is an imbalance which involves tightness in the hip flexors and quadriceps and weakness in the gluteals, hamstrings and core. An anterior pelvic tilt can also affect other areas of your body like the knees, ankles and low back.

This ended up affecting my entire right side, ultimately causing my plantar fasciitis symptoms (along with other areas of tightness). Over the years, certain movements would aggravate it and when I’m training for a run, I HAD to stay on top of my rehab exercises. Otherwise, it was a rough price to pay: PAIN.

Even though I’m active, my body still aches. It isn’t enough to be active. The body likes to move in a way that feels safe and strong and it will compensate in some way when it isn’t – typically in the form of pain/discomfort and potentially injury. This is why form is crucial. Performing movements correctly is key to a healthy, pain-free body.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing how I manage my symptoms in a 4 part mini series on pelvic health. ⁣⁣
Do you have an area on your body that has been causing you aches and pains?⁣⁣
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This is part of a mini series on Pelvic Health.
Read Part 1 Introduction.
Read Part 2 Warm Up and Stretch
Read Part 3 What Causes APT?
Read Part 4 Why I Almost Never Squat