Most people have minor musculoskeletal discomforts; a "stiff" neck, an "achy" back or a "bum" knee. Often these problems are due to an injury that may have occurred years ago, perhaps even during childhood.

Being aware of aches and pains that manifest themselves as you age may help you to find a way to minimize their effects.  In some cases, you may be able to get rid of them all together.  Being a creature of habit, you are probably repeating certain patterns that are causing specific muscles to shorten, other muscles to stretch, and unintentionally creating imbalances in your body.

For example, most people who are right handed exhibit a standing posture with a lower right shoulder, higher right pelvis, and more pronation (loss of arch) on their left foot. This pattern can already be seen at age seven or eight! Left handed people usually have less asymmetries with their postural alignment.  Right handed people tend to be very dominant with the use of their right hand.  It is beneficial for right handed people to incorporate the use of their left side more often.  For example, try using your left hand for carrying groceries or doing other mundane tasks like dusting or sweeping. A more coordinated movement, like brushing your teeth, is much more difficult, but it is possible to teach your non-dominant hand. A general awareness of "evening things out" between right and left sides while performing daily tasks is the key.

In our society we tend to sit the majority of the time, which causes the same muscle groups to be affected and weakened from sitting. We sit in our cars, and usually sit when working, eating or reading.  Take a moment to analyze how you sit.  Do you sit in the same chair most of the time? How do you hold your head when you watch TV? Do you cross the same leg or have your feet propped a certain way? These are things we can change by periodically moving ourselves to a different chair or sometimes even rearranging the furniture. Sit at different places at the kitchen table so that your head is not always turned the same direction when you are conversing during the meal.

If you think about your daily life, you will find dozens of patterns that you follow each and every day that are contributing to your imbalances. Many people sleep on one side of the bed for years, and typically have a favorite side. Older patients often realize during physical therapy that they cannot get up from the treatment table, because they do not have the muscular strength on the other side. After years of these habits, the asymmetrical weaknesses affect how you can function.

You can avoid these functional weaknesses by analyzing your daily activities and the habits and patterns that may be contributing to your problem.  By making some small adjustments, you can prevent minor discomforts from evolving into chronic pain.