Dr. Kenney’s Friday 5 Spot
On Fridays I like to share some of the experiences I’ve had during the week with patients and in my personal life that I’ve found significant in some way. I like to share them in hopes that you might find value in them and have something resonate with you in your life.
Something I’ve noticed? With COVID affecting us since March, I continue to see people I haven’t seen in months that have put on considerable sums of weight. Even coaching football for 9-10-year-old boys I noticed that a few of my previous players came back heavy. I bring this up because it’s a good reminder of how our health and bodies work. Picture your garden – to grow properly it requires sunlight, water, nutrients, and the removal of weeds. Stay on top of these areas and the garden will flourish. Ignore it, and within 3 weeks it’ll be an overgrown mess of weeds with dead plants everywhere. Likewise, if you stay on top of what you eat, how and how much you move, what you drink, etc. then your body will prosper. Tend to your body like a garden and you’ll get great results.
Can you treat someone with arthritis? I receive this question daily and the answer is that of course I can. Most people will show signs of arthritis in the spine (aka degenerative joint or disc disease) often in their late 40’s or early 50’s. Movement of the spine and of the body both help arthritis and keep it from getting worse. Probably 80% of my patients over the age of 45-50 have some form of arthritis so it is not something that would or should prevent someone from receiving care. Arthritis is to your spine what cavities are to your teeth. And just as dentists work with that daily, chiropractors work with arthritis daily.
A recent interaction that reinforced a good lesson? I was speaking to a rookie head coach in my football league. His team is struggling and he’s beating himself up for lack of results (though he tries very hard, cares very much, and has great enthusiasm). He and I have become friends and I’ve shared things that I feel can help him. During one of recent talks he was talking a lot about wanting to be better in various areas. I inquired about how he was going to get them better in those areas and he said he didn’t know. This reminded me of a lesson I was taught long ago which is to get good, you need to know how to get good.
Pick anything – finances, getting into shape, picking up a new hobby, you name it, and for you to improve in that area you need to know some steps to get you to that goal. In the case of this coach, I shared certain adjustments I’d make to show improvement in the areas he mentioned – adding drills, simplifying concepts, removing confusing things. It was nothing all that complicated but this helped him quite a bit because while he was focusing on what he ultimately wanted to happen he had been ignoring the aspect of how to get there. This is quite common, and this was a great reminder lesson for me.
Something that I’ve found helpful recently? I was reminded about the importance of deep breathing exercises recently, so I’ve been working on doing them daily. I take in a deep breath for 4 seconds and push it out for 4 seconds and repeat this process about 4 times (sometimes more). It’s amazing to me how much lighter and more relaxed I feel after doing this simple practice.
Some quotes I love?
“You can’t jump a battery with a dead battery. Don’t surround yourself with people that drain your battery but energize it. – Eric Thomas
“A man makes his own way. No one gives it to you. You have to take it.” – Frank Costello, The Departed
Want more?
- Don’t forget to follow Dr. Kenney on Instagram @Coloradochiropractor
- To see previous Friday 5 Spots, visit www.newbodychiro.com and go to “blog”
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