I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, attributed to Benjamin Franklin, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” This is true for many things in life. We tend to take care of maintaining/repairing our cars, houses, lawns, dishwashers, washing machines, plumbing, etc, but sometimes have difficulty prioritizing our own health and wellness. For example, if you find a small leak somewhere in your house, most people know that the best response, even if inconvenient or financially uncomfortable, is to have a professional assess and fix the situation in order to prevent it from worsening and causing further issues. If you have a small leak in your house and don’t address it, or if you just patch it up temporarily and don’t figure out where it is originating from, it could lead to major (and expensive!) issues.
In the same way, if you have a minor pain or muscle imbalance, and either ignore it or mask it with over the counter pain medications without figuring out the root cause of the symptoms, it could lead to worsening symptoms or a bigger injury down the road.
I challenge you to consider how much you are willing to pay to fix the air conditioning in your house, but how difficult it is to invest in healing your pain, which is reducing your quality of life and keeping you from doing the things you need and want to do. My plea to you today is… take care of yourself! You are only given one body, and your body needs to be maintained and cared for over time, just as a car or house does. Cars, houses, appliances, and the like can all be replaced eventually if they completely break down, but you can’t buy a new body. An investment of finances and time into your own body early on can save a lot of money, pain, and time down the road through prevention!