Almost a year on from surgery and I’m almost back to full fitness. It’s exciting. I’m soon to start surfing again which I’ve missed hugely over the last few months. As those of you who have recovered from injury know, there’s always some knock-on effects.
I’ve been seeing the osteopath, along with many other health professionals to support my rehab. Having knee issues, often leads to having other issues. Everything in our body is connected. My back is out of alignment because I still have one knee weaker than the other. Makes sense, right?
What I might have overlooked though is before my surgery I went multiple years walking on a knee that wasn’t right. My body adjusted to its new normal and now this has been evened out. My body hasn’t caught up yet though. Given I’ve walked a few years on a bad knee, I need to relearn and adjust to walking on a good knee now too, and get my back and rest of my body used to this.
It's got me thinking. If we put our body under duress and pressure, it requires the same amount of time to recover as it took to adjust in the first place. We can’t just fix it and expect our body and mind to follow. It takes time. This is true for burnout, working in a toxic environment or being in an abusive relationship. We don’t just leave and start afresh. There’s the transition, recovery and adjustment period.
Science argues that at a cellular level we need to allow the same time for complete recovery as we were under the stress for in the first place - this could be years!
Often it’s like going back to the beginning and allowing ourselves to begin again and start from a clean slate. Learning to walk properly before I could run properly has been a great way (and very frustrating) to put this into practice.
So if you’re transitioning, allow time, don’t expect perfection or an immediate switch, and know there’s likely to be knock-on effects and impacts whilst you adjust.
Need support with your transition or helping futureproof your team in times of change and uncertainty? Book a free call to chat about how I might be able to help.