Injuries. They’re not exactly an inevitable part of outdoor adventure, but we’d be lying if we didn’t admit that the two often go hand-in-hand. Take me, for example. I’ve been outdoorsy going all the way back to my adolescence, and nearly 30 years of hiking, skiing, biking and rock climbing has earned me two knee surgeries, one separated shoulder and countless tweaky backs, hamstrings and hips that took weeks or months to resolve. So let’s just say I’m no stranger to musculoskeletal therapies like physical therapy and chiropractic.
In fact, I shiver to think about the hours I’ve tallied up on a physio or chiropractor’s bed getting worked on, never mind the dollars. But I thank my lucky stars that such health practitioners exist, or I don’t think I’d have spent a whole lot of time in my hiking boots or my trail running shoes in recent years. If you’ve recently acquired an achy back, strained muscle, ligament or tendon, or even just a phantom pain that you can’t totally describe, there’s a good chance you’re considering a visit to your local physical therapist or chiropractor. But how do you know which to go to? Do you just head to your friend Helen’s favorite therapist that she swears fixed her sciatica? Should you shell out for a pricey MRI first to find out exactly what’s going on?
