Practice

We all need practice. It is what makes us better and drives adaptation. An effort to make a change requires repetition. Typically, in my interactions with clients there is a component where I provide the input, usually in the form of manual therapy. This means I input a sensation to reorganize how you interpret movement. Then, we practice an exercise. The intention of the exercise is to recreate the new sense of movement, from the inside out. With continued practice of that exercise, lasting change can occur.

Movement affects memory, and memory guides movement. The repeated practice of walking when we first learned helped us find a successful way to do so. We fell down a number of times in the process which provided us the information needed to learn how not to walk. The same rules apply when pain develops. Pain is the information needed to move differently. Without it we may continue to do something that is injurious.

Learning requires consistent practice. Think of it like molding clay or play-doh. To get it into the shape you want, you have to apply pressure in the right places over and over again. If you don’t, the shape remains as it is. In all honesty it is not particularly exciting to do the same movement day after day, but it is that repeated small effort that moves the needle. That effort is what iterates on itself, making each version of us a little bit better than the last.

Austin Ulrich, Physical Therapist