#upandrun 2019 series >> Isle of Wight Challenge

I’ve sat and watched the London Marathon this morning as part of my preparation for the double ultra next weekend. It’s so inspiring to see the elites make it look so easy in their relaxed yet relentless pursuit to cross the line. Equally inspiring are the thousands of people driving themselves round the streets of London for a cause. All in all, very positive. Then the crowd plays its part without limit. So well I can remember the encouragement all the way, and then that final stretch……….it’s like winning the Olympic gold as people roar, wave, blow instruments and all the rest. The feeling is like nothing else whether you are in 1st place or hours later — I know the latter 🙂

This week I have set up a simple plan to relax, stretch, move and eat well, plus massage and yoga. I do have a mild groin strain off the back of the Brighton Marathon a few weeks ago, so will be putting plenty of emphasis on nourishing with movement.

Don’t forget the fun quiz night coming up on May 22nd at Wags N Tales in Surbiton raising money for Understand Pain social enterprise and CRPS UK charity. Tickets here.

Plus, on the afternoon of the 22nd I will be talking about pain and practical tools and strategies that people can use to improve their lives. Tickets here

Why?

Just in case you are new to the site, the purpose of Understand Pain is to raise awareness of the problem of pain, the No1 global health burden, and what we can do to improve lives. With some 100 million people in Europe suffering, and the yearly costs reaching 441bn Euros, the outcomes must change. The major hurdle is that pain is largely misunderstood meaning that people are not aware of their choices, ways that they can cope with the pain so that they can move on, and that indeed pain can and does change. Our understanding of pain has progressed enormously over the past 10 years. There has been some great revelations via the research, but also from related fields.

We are not just talking about back pain, neck pain or other common musculoskeletal pains. Think of all the conditions and situations in which pain features: cancer, diabetes, heart disease, auto-immune diseases, irritable bowel syndrome, pelvic pain, headaches, migraines, dementia. When you see all those charities running today, there are few, if any, where pain is not part of the reason for suffering. There is so much we CAN do, starting with understanding pain. And on this, Understand Pain, or UP, is keen to work with any charity or organisation that represents a condition that features pain.

If you have any questions or believe that you can help in some way, including donating funds to scale our work (e.g./ workshops across the UK), please get in touch: richmond@specialistpainphysio,com

Keep an eye out for the hashtag #upandrun as I keep plodding for pain!