Meet Bonnie, our six-month-old pup who has stolen the hearts of everyone at Physique and become a delightful reminder of the power of love and companionship we all need. You might’ve seen her in clinic from time to time or on her walks and café visits all over the mountain. If you happen to be walking past, she absolutely loves a pat and cuddle, so don’t be shy!

When Bonnie had her needles as a 3-month-old puppy we got a glimpse of how sensitive she truly is. The vet proclaimed her as probably the “sookiest dog” he had come across in some time. Bonnie has a particular squeal which she lets out when she experiences what most would consider to be mildly unpleasant experiences, e.g. vaccination needle or being shown that you in fact should not poop on the carpet. These are not particularly painful or terrible experiences for most of us however for my poor sooky dog they are.
This got me thinking about how you can go from doing everything normally one day and the next be incapacitated and unable to bend down to get your shoes on. How is it that things can change so quickly that simple, easy tasks become excruciating, impossible jobs that need to be left unfinished?
This phenomenon is due to our body’s inbuilt super protective mechanisms which keep us all safe every single day. I like to use the examples of an ankle sprain and a back injury. When you sustain an ankle injury your body instinctively gets the weight off the injured foot, it swells up and lets you know it’s injured by hurting like hell. You stop using the foot for a few days until all of a sudden you can get that foot down again.
Let’s switch examples now – you lift a heavy object while you’re in a funny position and all of a sudden you can’t straighten your back, and every time you try to move, it feels like your back is about to cave in. This is a nasty yet all too common story I hear when people hurt their back. This catchy, jolting feeling is the same system protecting you that makes you limp/stay off a sprained ankle. Of course, we can’t “not use” our back, so our brain does its best to stop us doing silly things which might aggravate the injury.
This usually lasts for a few days to a couple of weeks before things improve. Our bodies’ protective systems can be a little bit like Bonnie – dramatic and over-reactive. It’s important to listen to these messages for the first week or so as our bodies begin to heal.
These messages start to become less reliable after a few weeks as our systems can tend to be too overreactive. If you have significant pain and discomfort after a week or so, it’s important to see someone who can help you pinpoint the cause of the pain/injury and assist you with a treatment plan to get back to full function. This is our bread and butter at Physique, and we love helping people achieve their goals and get back to their day-to-day lives pain-free.