Changing Seasons and Improved Health

As April roles into spring, our sweater-wearing, curled up by the fire, comfort food bodies turn to dreams of blue skies, shorts, getting out to the lake or golf course, cold iced tea and the posture change to increasing our activity. Thoughts of getting outside to enjoy the beautiful weather and engage the amazingness that summer brings, start to consume our minds.

Changing of seasons brings many opportunities for metaphorical application and I think that the conversion from winter to spring is one of the most applicable to lives who are currently in a “winter” season of health. There’s not much movement outside of what is necessary and any attempt to go outside the comforts of “home” are painful because of the “cold” and difficulties that come with “snow”. In order to get from the winter cold to the beauties of summer, warm weather and wonderful activity we have to get through this ugly, brown, rainy season. It’s my least favorite time of year. In fact, I’ve always said if I could miss any part of the year in the upper Midwest it would be right now, between March and May.

At the same time, however, I look forward to it because I know we have to get through the ugliness to get to the beauty and the more quickly we can get through the difficulty, the quicker we get to the good stuff. While it would be nice to “wave the magic wand” and go right from the serene snow covered land to lush green and flowers overnight, we all know we must go through the ugly to make the transition.

Interestingly, it seems that a certain sub-sect of patients that I encounter are content staying in their “winter season”. They are so fearful of what it would take to get better, they are willing to stay in the slump of pain, instability, lack of activity and declining health because they’ve become accustomed to it and they like comfort and have trouble thinking about the difficulty of healing and rehab. Hard to blame them, we all like comfort. To a certain extent, many don’t even realize what they’re missing because it’s been so long since they experienced a pain free foot or stable ankle. Their perspective is foggy, cloudy, snowy and cold.

Whenever I encounter a patient who seems to want to remain in the “winter” season I try to remind them of a couple of things. First, summer is pretty great! Who would want to miss it? Who would want to sit, when they have the capacity to walk. Who would want to walk, when they have the capacity to run and jump? Who wants to sit on the sideline, when they have the potential to play, and play well?

Secondly, when an infection is brewing, when is the best time to address it? Should we wait until it’s totally out of hand and taking over our entire body? Or is it prudent to dig that infection out immediately and get on the right antibiotics to clear things quickly? I can say I’ve seen first hand the effects of letting an “infection” brew and ignoring it. Every time, without exception, it gets worse, the effects are deeper and options become quickly limited. Patients always say, “I wish I would’ve just come in earlier”.

The bottom line of this thought pattern is that almost nothing of worth comes with the wave of a “magic wand”. Good things take work, hard work, and sometimes pretty significant discomfort and pain. Secondly, the quicker we “bite the bullet”, the quicker we get to the point of health we desire and the easier it is to address with success.

As physicians and surgeons, we do our best to educate patients to their problem, give them good sound options and then help them get through the “rainy, brown season” in reaching their goal of “summer”….improved health, increased activity and less pain. It’s a joy to engage patients at this level and it’s our goal to get each patient coming through our doors to that point. Here’s to summer and to the joy of changing seasons!

MATTHEW D. SORENSEN, DPM, FACFAS

Fellowship Trained Surgeon

Board Certified in Foot & Ankle Reconstruction, Sports Injury & Trauma

WEIL FOOT-ANKLE & ORTHOPEDIC INSTITUTE

847-390-7666