With the start of 2018, I have been talking to many people who want to kick off the year right, by beginning to meet their fitness goals. Whether it is running the Rock and Roll Marathon this March or Cherry Blossom 10 miler this April, without fear of hurting their hip/ knee/foot again, or getting their back fixed so that they can FINALLY begin to lift weights like they did last Spring before their injury or achieving that optimal work out program that they just can’t seem to build-up to because of work stress/ holiday stress/ procrastination/ being plagued with minor injuries or LOSING WEIGHT by working out without hurting themselves – you name it.
As a physical therapist, my advice often is set three simple sub-goals to achieve your main goal and set a time frame within which to achieve them. Then for each goal, make a to-do-list. It may be – join a diet program, or sign up with a personal trainer, or contact a physical therapist and fix that injury to move forward with your fitness goals.
One of the hardest things that I find people have difficulty maintaining is “consistency” and the second is “patience”. If you are working towards your fitness goals consistently then rest assured, you WILL be patient with yourself and you WILL GET THERE.
If you are suffering from an injury or have minor knee or back or neck/shoulder pain and are unsure if you can move forward with your goals, then I strongly recommend you consult with a physical therapist to perform an injury prevention/movement screen. The movement screen is used with recreational athletes or someone who is trying to add/ build up a new fitness routine to address mobility, stability, strength and overall endurance. It enables the physical therapist to identify areas of weakness and dysfunction (e.g. your hip muscles or core stability or lack of agility and ability to produce optimum power and speed for YOU). The injury prevention/ movement screen also enables the physical therapist and you to devise a plan to get and stay fit and prevent recurring injuries that stall you from building and maintaining an OPTIMALLY FIT AND ACTIVE LIFESTYLE THROUGH OUT THE YEAR.
So what are you waiting for? Go ahead and set those goals! Hit the ground running! Before you know it, Spring will be here and you will be so happy to have gotten as far as you anticipated, because you were patient enough to maintain CONSISTENCY! 🙂
Trupti graduated with a Master’s degree in Physical Therapy from UNC- Chapel Hill in 2001. She has furthered her studies with numerous post-graduate courses focusing on the Neck, shoulder, knee, and back, with a strong emphasis in manual therapy. Recently completed courses in Maitland-Australian Physiotherapy Seminars (Levels 1- 5), has afforded her an excellent way to relieve pain and help people get moving, active and healthy quickly and effectively.
With 20+ years of experience in Physical Therapy, Trupti has practiced in various orthopedic and sports focused clinical settings, in both the Raleigh-Durham, NC and DC regions. She has been Director of multiple Physical therapy Clinics in DC and also worked with some renowned specialists at Georgetown University Hospital in DC. During her years of service, Trupti has had the privilege of caring for a wide variety of clients: from school-aged children to retirees; from homemakers to business professionals; from weekend warriors to professional athletes.
Trupti is an avid fan of the outdoors, art, traveling and of course the Tar Heels. She enjoys spending time with her niece and nephew.
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