Dr. Kenney’s Friday 5 Spot
I interact with hundreds of patients each week and get asked a lot of questions. On Fridays I like to share some of the answers I give and hope it has value for you.
Do you pressure patients to adhere to a certain care plan? I do not. I am honest with everyone and certainly provide guidance and recommendations, but never make demands or try to convince anyone of what to do. As I see it, my job is to help people with whatever they’d like my help with. If that means a single visit or a lifetime of care, I’m still going to give them my best. I truly believe many of my patients would do far better if they used my services more regularly but that is not my decision. My practice is very low stress and people are free to come as much or as little as they’d like.
Something I’ve been doing lately that’s really helping? Historically I do very little stretching. I’ve always been very flexible and thus have never really adhered to any major stretching program. However, over the past 2 weeks I have begun prioritizing stretching more. I have focused on my back and legs with all the running I’ve been doing in preparation for my next race. It has made a tremendous difference and I’ve really felt that my legs are far fresher and more rejuvenated after I stretch them. I’ve also tried to stretch briefly during my long runs every hour or so and that too has made a big difference for me.
A cool moment I’ve experienced in one of my races? A few years ago, I ran the Pike’s Peak Marathon – 13.1 miles and 8,000 feet to the top of Pike’s Peak and then 13.1 miles right back down. It’s a grueling race and considered by many to be the hardest marathon in the country because of all the climbing and descending it requires. With about a mile to go I was running down Ruxton Avenue in Manitou Springs and my tank was empty, I was dragging. Suddenly out of the crowd a super upbeat woman began running next to me. She said, “you can do this, keep going, you’re almost there, we’ll finish this together!” She really brought me back to life and I was able to finish strong. The interesting part is that while I remember running with her for a while, she wasn’t there when I finished the race and I never actually saw her leave my side. Years later, I’m still 90% sure she was real. Ha.
A piece of advice I share regularly? I believe strongly in incremental progress. This means that your goal today is simply to be a little bit better in your endeavors than you were yesterday. So, I encourage everyone to go a little bit harder, a little bit further, a little bit faster, a little bit longer, a little bit more something every day. If you challenge yourself to do this, it becomes less daunting to get from 1 point to the next and before you know it, the progress really adds up.
A quote I love? “Perseverance I think is important for everyone. Don’t give up, don’t give in. There’s always an answer to everything.” – Louis Zamperini
Want more?
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