A Fine Line

“There is a fine line between hard and stupid!’ These words from my old Gunny didn’t ring as true to a 19 year old Marine as they do today. I remember the days where going on “light duty” was a sign of weakness to our fellow Marines. Days when we PT’d with sprains, breaks, cuts and any number of injuries. Pain for the sake of pride.

Now don’t get me wrong. As young Marines we needed to gain the strength of mind and character to fight through tough times. There is a distinct difference between pain and injury. You can be in pain such as sucking wind on a long run or muscles cramping during a 300 workout. That pain is goooood. (especially when it’s over!). But there can be no good in continuing to run (during a workout) after tearing your ACL. That is simply injury. You will only make it worse, lengthen your recovery time and in turn affect your fitness goals.

Let’s fast forward to today. A few years older and wiser, right? Sometimes, I wonder.

Any number of injuries should have sent me to the doctor. Problems with my knees, back and neck. Several years of pain and “sucking it up”. Hard or stupid? (as my Gunny rings in my ears) The simple answer… STUPID!!

My knees which had bothered me for so long, affecting my running, walking and day to day quality of life. It was a hard fix… I needed to stretch! In about 20 minutes my doctor gave me the simplest of cures which had me back running within the month.

My neck and back which caused me much discomfort and loss of strength. That was a pinched nerve. This is a continuing fix but is better every day.

My fitness level has raised drastically since I sought treatment. A healthy body will always outperform an unhealthy one. I wonder where I could be if not for those couple years. Well, enough wondering as I cannot control the past, only the future.

So for those of you who are procrastinating on treatment of an injury, I ask you.. “Are you being hard or stupid?!”