Everything Matters

I recently pulled a muscle in my calf. Multiple times a week I have to spend valuable time going to physical therapy when I could be doing something more productive. I hate that.

Of course, now that I am hurt I want to get better, so I will still go, but that’s not the point. Injuring my calf made me realize something: my calf pull has very little to do with my calf. It all stemmed from right hip, lower back AND foot issues…things I didn’t take care of before that would have been less severe than what I am dealing with now.

As someone who’s learned his lesson, let me tell you that everything matters. One little pulled muscle can snowball into something much worse.

Let me give you an even better example. My physical therapist Dorienne at Symmetry Physical Therapy in White Plains told me a story about an Iona College baseball player from a few years ago (Iona of course is in New Rochelle, where the Steiner Sports offices are located). There was a pitcher on the team that had developed a significant shoulder problem and it wasn’t until a few weeks went by that they figured out that an ingrown toenail was the cause of the problem. Every time he would try to land, he would change his natural motion, which threw off his mechanics and his whole kinetic system.

What originally should have been no big deal ended up causing major shoulder issues. For a pitcher, that can be detrimental.

So, as I always say, little things don’t mean a lot, they mean everything. That’s why you should always sweat the small stuff. When you’re trying to figure out what’s important vs. what’s not important, all you have to know is that everything is because every little thing has an impact on something greater.