Don’t lie. You know you’ve said this line or something close to it at least once. Since the creation of more and more social media platforms, we hear this phrase more and more. Unfortunately, this phrase is typically followed by “and now ___ is bothering me” or “and I have no idea if I did it right but now ___ hurts”. Don’t get me wrong, social media can be a great tool to show off exercises, stretches, tips, etc. (just go look at our page @lpptkc 😉) It’s incredible that we have such knowledge, convenience and creativity at our fingertips.
Some things to keep in mind when scrolling:
Who is this person sharing this information? What are their credentials?
Is this individual an expert in the field or someone who had knee surgery when they were 15 and are now telling everyone to try this exercise? If 10 people had the same knee surgery, their rehabs can still look very different. If one person responds really well to eating bananas and chocolate milk post run, that does not mean every runner will have the same results from that. Stan Stiffshoulder may show off his
favorite stretch online; Molly Movestoomuch may have discomfort with that stretch because these two individuals have different needs. Which leads to my next point..
Not all exercises are appropriate for everyone
Everybody is different. While some may be very similar and/or have similar symptoms, some exercises will not be necessary or appropriate for every body. Exercises do not have to be cool or fancy to be effective. Keep it simple, friends. The basics work really well for a reason! Exercises that are appropriate for your body may look simple but will likely feel very difficult.
Exercises do not have to be extremely difficult to be effective
You do not have to be sweating profusely with a red face and high heart rate to call an exercise or workout effective! Bodies need and love movement and resistance. And we love showing you all just how to get those things! Exercises DO NOT need to be hard just for the sake of being hard.
Exercises with specific labels don’t automatically target those labels
I’m talking about the folks saying “glute lunges” and “glute bridges”, etc. While ABSOLUTELY we do love our glutes over here (how many times have you heard one of us ask “do you feel your butt?”). But (pun intended), just merely titling an exercise with a body part does not automatically mean your body will jump to using said body part. If you do feel it, awesome! If not, we gotta figure out how to find it! And maybe most important of all..
Comparison is evil
Easier said than done; don’t compare your journey to someone on social media. Situations are different, past histories are different, bodies are different. In addition, people can make their pictures look however they’d like and we’d never know if they’re real 😉
Never hesitate to ask us questions about anything you see on social media! We are here to help you move the best way you can. And we’d be lying if we said we never scrolled by something we didn’t try or even start using in the clinic!
Mackenzie Janner PT, DPT, CSMT, SFMA, Certified Sportsmetrics, Certified Dry Needling L1