I recently did an advanced driving course and was delighted that the instructor made an obvious but overlooked point.
You look after your car with an annual service and an MOT to check it is roadworthy for safety but what about the driver, that is YOU.
Staying awake at the wheel, being comfortable in your driving seat. Being alert and reactive to stimuli from all directions at the same time. Sounds like hunting in the jungle and similarly if you make a mistake, you are dead as the dodo.
For decades I have recommended a bit of preventative treatment to keep you the driver safe and comfortable in your journey through life.
‘What if the point if I’m not in pain anymore’?
You don’t drive your car until it breaks, and you need the emergency call out service to rescue you, I hope. We have tests we can use to check your muscle strength and co-ordination, we can see if you are ‘working’ or faulty, and we can return you to perfect mechanical working, just like you expect from your car’s garage. Also, just like the garage if you break something it costs more and takes longer to fix, and the car is not available for that family trip. Maintaining you yourself in tip top physical alignment is keeping your most important vehicle road worthy indeed life worthy. We are happy to offer service facilities near you so please don’t wait for the warning lights to come on, have a check-up as often as you feel the need. As with your automobile there are two parameters, the annual service and the mileage based one. Competitive athletes might train many hours each week and they are using up their miles quicker than a moderate exerciser. They will need more treatment to keep in top form. Then there is the car left in the drive except for shopping on Saturdays, this one also needs a lot of work because it never gets used much so stiffens up. Somewhere there is a happy medium perhaps its 30 minutes brisk walk a day although an hour is better. Any exercise you enjoy and will do is fine. Older folks like me also should go the gym and dare I say it lift weights! Use it or lose it. As we get older, we lose muscle particularly over 60 years of age, but this is preventable with a trip to the gym occasionally. Please consider taking a course of 6 sessions with our personal trainer Sophie Yoell to learn how to do this safely. Think of her instruction like learning to drive and then continue in your local gym if it is more convenient for you. Even buy some kit and use it at home.
When I was running marathons more intensively, I needed, or at least massively benefitted from a weekly sports massage. This improved my comfort and performance. All pro-athletes have massive input from teams of therapists keeping them on the track, rather like your racing car, you. (Please try a massage with Nic or Holly who are both highly qualified in their field and offer expert advice as well as a great massage).
So, will you be going out for a drive today, taking the vehicle on the road? Are you sure you will get there safe and sound? I hope you have a great trip and look forward to your visiting us very soon.
Steve and the team at Freedom Healthcare.