As an aging athlete, I thank God every day I live here in Cabo San Lucas, where so many talented doctors and healers live and work. I have done so much damage to myself by overtraining for 44 years that I pretty much require an entire team of acupuncturists, massage therapists, stem cell doctors and chiropractors to keep me in one piece so I can continue to exercise without pain. I would not be able to afford these types of services in California or Canada but here in Cabo, we are very blessed to have high-quality pain relief practitioners at bargain basement prices.
In my 22 years of experience as a personal trainer, people in pain generally have one of two things going on: 1. They are over-exercising or 2. They are sitting too much. Both of these things lead to pain, particularly in the lower back and neck. For example, tight hip flexors, the most common cause of lower back pain, can be caused either by sitting at a computer or steering wheel for too many hours OR by spending too many hours on a bicycle or running too often.
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If you could take a pill that would mimic the effects of exercise, then it would not be a problem for you to age without disease and pain. Unfortunately, such a pill is not available yet, (although Big Biotech is actually trying to develop several of these pills). The bottom line is this: Your number one defense against the aging and disease process is exercise. Most scientists in the reverse aging community agree with this. If you want to increase your healthy lifespan you must exercise regularly. Cardiovascular exercise and resistance training are both needed for successful aging. But what if you are in too much pain to even think about starting an exercise program?
If you have chronic pain, starting an exercise program is ill-advised until you deal with the pain. But, as I mentioned previously, there are many options here in Los Cabos at affordable prices. I pay about 50% or less for therapy here in Los Cabos than I have to pay when I am in the U.S. and Canada.
Two of my favorite healers in Cabo San Lucas practice Chinese medicine. Acupuncture has been a very important part of my pain relief and general health program. Most recently, I have had great results with acupuncture to reduce my lower back pain, foot pain, neck pain and even the plugged-up sinuses that had been plaguing me for the past two years.
Acupuncture has also helped me sleep better and sleep is an essential ingredient for aging well. If you don't sleep well you can not regenerate and your brain can not clear waste products that lead to dementia and other diseases associated with aging.
Acupuncture stimulates the central nervous system which releases natural healing chemicals into the muscles, spinal cord, and brain. These biochemical changes stimulate the body's natural healing abilities and promote both physical and emotional well-being. Very thin needles are inserted into the body and an electrical current can be applied to the needles. This is a relatively painless process that usually works almost immediately for me for pain relief.
Another helpful technique I use for pain is also from ancient China called “cupping”. Cupping therapy is an ancient healing method that uses small plastic cups which are applied to the skin with suction. The cups pull upwards on your skin and increase blood flow to the affected areas. Cupping releases muscle tissue that is adhered to the fascia and is great for neck and back pain. The suction cups also remove waste products and environmental toxins from your body tissues. Cupping is relatively painless but can be uncomfortable in the beginning if your muscles are really tight.
My acupuncture/cupping practitioners do therapeutic massage to prepare my body first. This is the most painful part of the procedure, as they are attempting to release muscle tissue from the connective fascial tissue, (sometimes called “Rolfing”). Personally, I would rather have 5-10 minutes of painful massage than a lifetime of disability so I just allow them to go for it. I do not have time or money to waste on so-called “relaxing" massages. A really good therapeutic massage is going to be uncomfortable, especially if you haven't done any bodywork for a long time.
Both of my therapists end the acupuncture/cupping sessions with assisted stretching for joint mobility. Very few people are disciplined enough to do as much stretching on our own as we need for good health, (I am no exception…. I tend to skip it unless I am teaching someone how to do it!). Assisted stretching allows me to get into a deeper stretch than I could do on my own.
Los Cabos also has some excellent physiotherapists. I have not required physiotherapy myself, but I have found it necessary to take some of my pain clients and personal training clients to various therapists if they are experiencing something I can’t fix. Happily, I have found one or two really talented physiotherapists who have been very successful at getting my clients back in the game so I can continue to do workouts with them.
Physiotherapy costs less here in Los Cabos than in the U.S. and Canada. Prices range from $25 to $50 and you can arrange package deals to save even more money.
If you have neck and back pain due to the degradation of your intervertebral discs, or in your knees, you may want to consider stem cell therapy. Pain due to reduced space in between your discs can be alleviated via stem cell therapy, available here in Los Cabos for much less money than in the United States. We are very fortunate to have access to affordable stem cell therapy. Stem cells are similar to acupuncture in the regard that they initiate a natural cascade of healing factors but you need to have some tissue left for them to work on. If you are bone on bone, stem cells will not work.
For more information on pain relief in Cabo, feel free to send an email to me at robynlittlewood@yahoo.com or via WhatsApp at +526242119435.
