Many of you may have heard the announcement yesterday mandating the closure of many businesses. We are sad to say it seems Competitive Edge does fall within one of the groups being mandated to close.  But before you panic… let me explain how we are going to get you through this closure. Our goal is to not only avoid a flare up in your pain but to even continue to make progress with your injury recovery.

The First Competitive Edge Closure

In the spring when we were mandated to close, everyone was caught off guard. Many of our clients felt their priorities shifting. They scrambled to figure out what was going on and how it was going to impact them. They were worried about all sorts of things; their health, finances, family concerns. As a result many completely stopped all forms of rehab. Their injury and their pain became secondary and their rehab plan no longer felt like a priority.

However within the weeks after our closure we found ourselves getting calls and emails from these clients telling us how terrible they felt. Their pain had returned or worsened in full force and they were at home in agony unsure of where to turn and what to do to help themselves.  At that time, many of them began to work with us in a couple of virtual ways. Our virtual services helped them immensely to get back on track and ease their pain. it was an amazing solution until the time when we could restart their in person appointments.

And as we can all see in retrospect- this flare up and regression  was preventable! If we had all had the where with all to remember that our bodies and our health need to continue to be a priority for us, we could have continued on their rehab and recovery in various ways. We could have prevented this gap or pause and therefore prevented the suffering they consequently went through.

But we learn from our mistakes and this time we know exactly what to do to help you avoid something like this happening to you! Here are our 5 ways to prevent a flare up during this closure:

1.) Manage your stress

We know that the mind and the body are connected in so many ways and that our emotions have a real, tangible result on how we feel physically. Stress not only causes changes in hormone levels, digestion, breathing but can also contribute to muscle tension and increase pain perception.

We encourage you to actively manage your stress- even when you think you are doing “fine”. After all we aren’t always the most honest with ourselves about how we are doing on a sub-conscious level. Read more HERE. Monitor what seems to trigger you and try to avoid those triggers. For example maybe watching the news excessively is causing you stress and you should try to limit this influence while still staying informed.

We also encourage you to add in happy and healthy activities wherever you can. Maybe this is yoga, meditation, exercise, reading a good book, bubble baths, music, getting outdoors, or staying in touch with friends and family ( virtually of course!). You need to make you a priority during all of this craziness.

2.) Keep doing your exercises

We understand that you may be feeling your priorities shift as you sort through what these restrictions mean for you and your life. But please remember that you started your rehab journey for a reason. Resolving your pain was important enough to you to reach out to us, schedule your appointments, receive treatment, do your exercises, etc. You have already made a large commitment to your recovery. You recognized that your pain was standing in the way of you being the person you wanted to be or living the life you want to live. Don’t forget about this. Do your best to keep your health a priority and keep up with your exercises. You are going to need them more than ever right now!

3.) Keep your appointments- just virtually!

Competitive Edge is not able to offer in person appointments but that doesn’t mean we aren’t able to offer appointments at all! We will still be “open” for virtual services over these next 4 weeks.

Now we know that a virtual appointment might not feel like it could possibly be the same. We know everyone prefers hands on appointments when they are available. But virtual appointments have been something we have been offering since April with great success (more than any of our clients expected!). Our therapists are extremely skilled and they are able to do a lot by being able to talk with you, see your posture and how you move. We will teach you self treatment techniques and exercises over a virtual call. They will empower you to take your health in your own hands ( literally sometimes!) and learn how to decrease your own pain from home. As I mentioned above, this is THE thing that helped our clients who were struggling with a flare up in April, May and June.

If you are interested in a virtual appointment – CLICK HERE to speak with someone about how we can help. Or CLICK HERE if you prefer just to go ahead and schedule online.

4.) Take this opportunity to work on your whole body

How many times have we said it… it’s all connected! Just because you feel your pain in one area of the body does not mean that it where it is coming from. You may be surprised to find imbalances in many different non-painful areas of the body! While we’re all stuck at home for a little bit, now is the perfect time to start to explore and correct those other more silent problem areas.

If you’re not sure where to start  we strongly recommend joining The PAINFREE Club. This is a virtual rehab club that we have been offering since April. We have a weekly live class where we run through gentle stretches and exercises to help you feel your best. And if you ever aren’t able to make it live- you can access our database of recordings from previous classes to do on your own time. Our club members who have consistently joined us since April have seen all sorts of health benefits including the decrease and even elimination of pain, improved flexibility and mobility, improved strength and posture, increased energy and even weight loss!

And the best part is, we offer a 30 day free trial of The PAINFREE Club. Meaning you can join us throughout this entire 4 week closure for free!

CLICK HERE to request to be added to the club!

5.) Get back on track ASAP in January

This time around we have a target reopen date of January 11th. This means we are able to plan and prepare for getting you back on track once we are able to reopen. We want this transition to be as seamless and possible for you. A prolonged and unnecessary gap in your treatment will likely cause a flare up in your pain.

We do expect to be extremely busy in January so we are recommending that our clients schedule their first in person appointment now before it gets too filled up.

When we reopened in June we had a wait list of more than 70 people. Between the wait list and the calls we received on the first few days that we reopened, we were booked solid for about 3 weeks. So, we encourage you not to wait but to schedule something now. You can always reschedule if things come up but it’s better to have the appointment than to be forced to wait longer than your body really wants to.

If we are told to postpone this reopen date, you will be notified and your appointment will simply be pushed back as needed.

CLICK HERE to schedule an appointment for an in person appointment. Or send us an email to [email protected] or a call to 403-252-6222. We are here and ready to speak with you!

Above all else, remember that we are here for you for whatever you may need. Prioritize yourself and both your mental and physical health and show kindness whenever you can.

Thinking of you and wishing you the best. See you virtually 🙂

Lindsay and the Competitive Edge Team