Imagine an old baseball glove.  It was left in the rain a few times during its active years, and now its been lying in the garage for about 10 years under a workbench (that’s piled about 4 ft. high with stuff the workbench was never meant to hold).  Because the garage has no heating or air conditioning,  the glove weathers  some extreme conditions year after year.  Freezing cold and dry in the winter, moist and hot during the summer.  Those conditions obviously wreak havoc on leather.

So now, It’s 10 years later and you’re 60 lbs heavier, which means your hand has expanded some, too.  Your workmates decide to start a beer-league softball team and you were a mean short-stop back in the day.  You dig out you lucky glove and are saddened to find that it’s just not in the same “pristine” shape that it was in when you got married and threw the glove under the work bench.  It has shrunk.  It’s hard.  The color is not even right.  You wonder just how did you go so wrong in your life (a bit dramatic, but you get the picture).

You’re now left with two choices:  buy an new glove (which is never your ‘lucky’ glove), or re-condition your old one.  The first choice is the easiest.  Who needs stupid “luck” anyway?  But that choice is definitely available.  If we’re going to compare this thing to your spine, though, you can’t just get a new one, so we’ll go with the latter choice.

Your  spine is stiff (you probably noticed this at your first softball practice).  It just doesn’t move right.  Some of the discs have shrunk, leaving less room for the nerves to come out (like the finger-holes in your glove – not enough room for your fingers).  You may experience some pain (like the pain your fingers will feel if you try to shove them into that rigid glove).

So how do we re-condition this thing?

The first thing you do is take the glove inside.  You remove it from the environment that caused it so much damage.  In comparison,  stop treating your spine so badly!  Stop sitting hunched over, looking down at a computer screen while slouched in your office chair, you know, the chair with your permanent butt-print in it?  Stand up and move around once in awhile.  Move that screen up some.  Stretch, for crying out loud!

Secondly,  you have to really manipulate the parts of the glove that are badly stuck.  As far as your spine goes, this is where the chiropractor comes in.  Some parts of the spine don’t regain proper motion very easily, not even by hanging upside down on an “inversion table.”  A chiropractor can detect these parts and establish motion in these areas.  This is where the analogy breaks down – the human body is way more complicated than this.  It has nerves and muscles and ligaments that all must work together to move the spine.  Stick with me, though.

Now that the glove is becoming more flexible you can start to stuff your fat fingers into the glove.  Likewise, in your spine, after a few chiropractic treatments, you notice that you can turn your head a little further.  Your low back isn’t so tight at the end of the day.

Before long, you’re actually catching balls with that glove again.  Plus, with the exercise of a few softball practices, you’ve lost some of those 60 extra pounds and your fingers aren’t as fat anymore!  You’re more agile and quick!

Now, the glove isn’t perfect.  It still has a couple stiff spots.  It may even have a hole or two between the fingers.  It is still discolored.  It works, though, and that’s what matters.  Likewise, I can take your spine, in its current condition, and make it work better.  I can’t fix all of the problems.  However, I take what you have and make it work better.

So, you’ve decided to run your first mud run.  Either you were the instigator that convinced your friends that it would be FUN!!!  or you have a persuasive friend that convinced you that it would be FUN!!!  In either case, you or your persuasive friend would be right, but there are a few things that you may want to know to make your adventure  more enjoyable.

Train for the run.  You should be able to run at least the distance of the course.  There will be obstacles along the route, and you may find some of these challenging, but you will probably not be running through this stage.  Some bodyweight exercises would be helpful to increase your upper body strength.

Run with a buddy or a group.  This can make the event more fun when enduring the course.  Remember, misery loves company.  There will also be witnesses if you decide to skip an obstacle.

Dress for Success.  Wear thin,  tight fitting, performance fabrics that can dry quickly.  If you wear loose fitting, cotton sweats, once they get wet, they will become heavy, sloppy and make your day harder than it needs to be.

Put Thought into the Right Shoes.  Your shoes will get very muddy, so don’t wear new ones.  Many people donate their shoes to charity post race to avoid finding out that they can’t get them clean.  Double knot your shoe strings and don’t duct tape them to your feet.  Some people use Vibram Five Finger Shoes as they can be be cleaned pretty easily.  Wear thin ankle socks as tall knee socks will become ankle weights once they become wet and muddy.

Pack a Bag.  Bring a plastic garbage bag to put your muddy clothes in after the race.  This will save the interior of your car.  Bring some clothes to change into for the post race party that you don’t mind getting dirty.   There will be showers after the race, but you will be finding mud packed in strange places on your body for several hours after the race.  Bring some flip flops for once you get get out of your muddy shoes, you don’t want them on the feet again.

Bring a Camera.  Either have a non running buddy take pictures or put a camera in the gear check locker so that you can immortalize yourself and your muddy buddies on Facebook.

Have fun, don’t avoid the mud, you paid good money to get muddy.

 

Dr. Whidden is a retired U.S. Navy pilot turned chiropractor in Destin, Florida. Emerald Coast Chiropractic, finding solutions to today’s health care issues, Who’s YOUR Chiropractor?

Ken Whidden, DC
Emerald Coast Chiropractic