• Home
  • About Us
    • Our Story
    • Our Staff
    • My Running Story
    • Testimonials
    • Careers
  • What We Treat
    • Running Injuries
    • Sciatica, Back, & Neck Pain
    • Chronic Pain
    • Shoulder/Elbow Pain
    • Hip/Knee Pain
    • Ankle/Foot Pain
    • Balance/Vestibular
  • Specialities
    • Traditional Manual Therapy
    • Non-Traditional Manual Therapy
    • Running Services
    • Correct Toes
    • Kinesio Taping
    • OOV Services
  • Resources
    • Blog
    • Free Guides
    • Events
    • Videos
    • Running Portal
  • Patient Info
    • Forms
    • FAQs
    • For Your Doctor
  • Contact Us
  • Reviews
    • Read Reviews
    • Rate Us!
  • COVID-19

The Manual Touch Physical Therapy

Whole Body Approach

Reclaim movement, function and life
For information, call: 847-541-7600
or email: info@themanualtouch.com
  • The Manual Touch Linkedin
  • The Manual Touch YouTube
  • The Manual Touch Instagram
  • The Manual Touch Facebook

Dealing with an Identity Crisis: “I Can’t Do What I Did 10 Years Ago”

August 30, 2022 By Denise Schwartz Leave a Comment

Aging and Life Transitions

Multiple times a day I help people view their aging or injured body in a new way.

My 75-year-old aunt came to me with knee and back pain. Earlier in the year, she had a total knee replacement of the other knee.  My aunt has always been extremely active. In her younger days, she played a lot of tennis, skied, traveled, and hiked. In fact, she still travels extensively, golfs, walks, and works out regularly.  She never sits still and is always on the move filling every minute of her day with activities and errands.

I had to tell her that she couldn’t play golf until her knee pain settled down. She played anyway.  Her response was, “I have to play, people are counting on me!” After a few weeks of this back and forth, she had a trip planned to Canada which included some hiking.  I suggested she not play any golf until after she got back from her trip. She agreed. Upon her return from Canada, she had no knee pain. Now, unfortunately, she is having leg pain from spinal stenosis which limits her ability to walk more than 15 minutes without both legs feeling tired and achy.  When I told her she might have to slow down her lifestyle including no golf, she looked perplexed and said, “How do I do that?”

Pain and Aging Can Cause an ‘Identity Crisis’

My aunt, like many of my patients who are in pain, is going through something akin to an identity crisis. 

Who am I if…

I can’t do all the things I used to do?  
I can’t exercise the way I used to?
I’m in a constant state of pain? 
I can’t move the way I used to?

I help my patients navigate these concerns and questions daily, guiding them to view their aging or injured body in a new way. I constantly remind them throughout the healing process of what they couldn’t do when they first came in and how much progress they’ve made. “You can’t rush mother-nature”, and “healing/rehab takes time”. “It’s completely normal to take two steps forward and one step back”.  I reassure my patients that they will return to the activities they love. They just have to be patient.

For patients who are going through the aging process or a chronic condition, I emphasize that they will experience a new normal going forward.  Experiencing grief or loss over not being able to continue the same activities they love is normal. There will be good days and bad days, and this can be difficult to accept.

Aging and bodily changes are inevitable

It is inevitable as we get older for our bodies to go through changes that affect how we move and function.

Now that I’m in my mid 50’s, I notice I don’t sleep as well as I used to. And, after the first couple of steps in the morning, my feet and ankles feel very stiff.

My older patients and friends complain of back stiffness upon waking in the morning.  In fact, no matter the age of my patient, whether they are 30, 40, 50 or older, they all complain, “I can’t do what I did 10 years ago”.

Some things to expect as we age

After age 25

We begin to get shorter as our discs in our spine begin to lose height. (This is unfortunate for me as I started out just shy of 5’!)

After age 30

Tendons become less flexible. Tendons connect muscles to bones. (With reduced tendon flexibility we lose speed.)

After age 50

A lot changes when we reach the age of 50:

  • Vision changes
  • Hearing decreases
  • Muscle mass decreases
  • Balance decreases
  • Hormonal changes contribute to weight gain and make losing weight difficult
  • Bone mass decreases
  • Possible Osteoporosis with a risk increase for fractures
  • Joint degeneration from activity begins to increase

Of course, these inevitable body changes do not affect everybody the same

General health, current, and past activity levels, and genetics all play a role in how much these changes affect your life. With mindfulness, care, and acceptance of your changing body, you can prevent these changes from limiting your life, activities, and health.  I have been fortunate to work with many amazing older folks who do not let age stop them:

  • Joan is an 83-year-old avid hiker, camper and canoer.
  • Hope is a 71-year-old triathlete who is tops in her age group.
  • Peggy is 78 and still hikes the Aspen trails and cross-country skis.
  • Multiple men and women in their 40s – 60s are still running marathons, triathlons, or doing yoga and walking.

For some great tips on how to take care of your aging body, download my free eBook: Mindful Tips for Pain-Free Daily Movement.

In addition to the physical changes, we are also dealing with changing roles

Transitioning from raising children to caring for our aging parents, becoming empty-nesters, or transitioning into a new career or retirement presents challenges.  Finding purpose and meaning in this new phase of life can be both scary and exciting. I went through the transition to empty-nester two years ago when my son went off to college.  You can read my transition story here.

Filed Under: Aging, Health & Wellness Tagged With: aging, Health, mindful movement

About Denise Schwartz

Denise Schwartz, PT, IMT, C is the owner of The Manual Touch Physical Therapy. For over 30 years, she has been helping patients reduce pain and improve quality of life using a whole body approach. Denise specializes in chronic pain, spinal conditions, running/triathlon injuries and prevention, balance/vestibular disorders, functional exercise, kinesiotaping, and various non-traditional and traditional & manual therapies. Contact Denise at denise@themanualtouch.com

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Get Health Tips

Subscribe to our mailing list

* indicates required
I'm also interested in receiving:

Search Other Blogs

Recent Blog Posts

  • Chronic Pain (a Central Nervous System Disease) and IMT
  • Scar Tissue: What Is It and How It Affects your Body
  • 2022 Reflections | A Letter From Denise

Blog Post Topics

Testimonials

I saw Denise at The Manual Touch recently for sciatic pain, that only the day before I saw Denise kept me from walking; I could only hobble for short distances before I would sit down and collapse. After some tissue work and gentle exercise with Denise, she put Kinesiotape around the affected area. I immediately noticed stability and pain improvement and could walk so much better that I was able to complete shopping trips to 4 stores I had been planning but did not think I could do. To me, the t… Read more
Read More
I was in Florida for vacation and developed an upper respiratory infection. I had annoying coughing and congestion in my chest. This went on for several days, and it was not getting better. It felt like I had a mucous plug stuck in my chest that would not break up. One night I remembered the self-treatment that Denise taught me at The Manual Touch where I had received PT, putting one hand over the afflicted area, and one hand near my abdomen where mucous could drain out. After about 5-10 minutes… Read more
Read More
The best physical therapist I’ve ever experienced is Denise Schwartz in Wheeling at the Manual Touch. I have seen Denise twice for over 6 months to treat 2 bouts of frozen shoulder that occurred 8 years apart. In addition to my shoulder, she has also helped with my back, exercise regimen, and overall health. She is a holistic practitioner expert in PT techniques and knows how to teach her clients how to fit her techniques easily into their lives. She relates with her clients about as well as any… Read more
Read More
As a young elite athlete I was involved in numerous accidents resulting in scar tissue causing loss of flexibility and restrictions as an adult. After each treatment I feel so much less restriction and experience greater range of motion.
Read More
Last winter our daughter Maddie had had several eye and ear infections, and all required topical and oral antibiotics.  These were instigated by a plugged tear duct.  A pediatric ophthalmologist said there was little chance the duct would open up on its own since she was well over a year old, and there was no harm in waiting a little longer before SURGERY. My husband and I did not want our little girl’s eye probed, and we definitely did not want her to have a general anesthetic, so we bro… Read more
Read More
The physical therapy I received at The Manual Touch PT helped reduce my sciatica pain to a manageable level in just a few sessions.  The exercises I was given strengthened and trained my muscles to prevent further back problems allowing me to return to playing basketball.
Read More
Just a note to thank you for the time you spent with me Saturday in evaluating my running technique and body alignment.  Your suggestions are already making sense and having an early impact.  After our meeting, I went out for a 5K run and found your suggestions “to shorten my stride” and “being conscious of not overlapping my steps” to be helpful. Thanks Denise  
Read More
I have been receiving PT therapy for pain and autoimmune disorders for over 18 months at The Manual Touch.  This also affects my kidneys and my lungs and other organs as I swell with fluid that my lymph system doesn’t seem to handle well.  I depend on the regular IMT tissue therapy I receive from Denise to help me function as normally as possible.  This therapy seems to work synergistically with the acupuncture and medication I also receive.  There are no cures for these disorders and as n… Read more
Read More
Excellent, professional assessment and treatment for an older woman who’s had lots of failed therapy. Kind and compassionate and caring! Thanks.
Read More
I can honestly say that Denise was the first physical therapist to listen to my story.   She has demonstrated more patience and compassion than any other therapist that I’ve ever met. For the past 8 years, I have been symptomatic with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS), a rare genetic condition which affects the connective tissue throughout my body. As a result of this disorder I deal with ongoing severe acute and chronic pain and a variety of other rare overlapping conditions such as thoracic outl… Read more
Read More

Our Mission


We believe all body systems and mental/emotional health are connected. We take a whole body approach to discover why patients are not healing and what were the initial causes of their current symptoms. 

Our mission is to use this whole body approach to help patients heal and overcome pain and limitations, resulting in improved quality of life. We also aim to promote wellness in our communities through ongoing education. 
Top 10 physical therapists in Wheeling

A winner of the
2015 Patients' Choice Awards
for
Wheeling Physical Therapist

Verified by Opencare.com

Testimonials

I saw Denise at The Manual Touch recently for sciatic pain, that only the day before I saw Denise kept me from walking; I could only hobble for short distances before I would sit down and collapse. After some tissue work and gentle exercise with Deni… Read more
https://themanualtouch.com/wp/testimonial/m-d-evanston-il
I was in Florida for vacation and developed an upper respiratory infection. I had annoying coughing and congestion in my chest. This went on for several days, and it was not getting better. It felt like I had a mucous plug stuck in my chest that woul… Read more
https://themanualtouch.com/wp/testimonial/a-b-riverwoods
The best physical therapist I’ve ever experienced is Denise Schwartz in Wheeling at the Manual Touch. I have seen Denise twice for over 6 months to treat 2 bouts of frozen shoulder that occurred 8 years apart. In addition to my shoulder, she has also… Read more
https://themanualtouch.com/wp/testimonial/b-h-elmhurst-il
As a young elite athlete I was involved in numerous accidents resulting in scar tissue causing loss of flexibility and restrictions as an adult. After each treatment I feel so much less restriction and experience greater range of motion.
https://themanualtouch.com/wp/testimonial/s-northbrook-il
Last winter our daughter Maddie had had several eye and ear infections, and all required topical and oral antibiotics.  These were instigated by a plugged tear duct.  A pediatric ophthalmologist said there was little chance the duct would open up o… Read more
The physical therapy I received at The Manual Touch PT helped reduce my sciatica pain to a manageable level in just a few sessions.  The exercises I was given strengthened and trained my muscles to prevent further back problems allowing me to return… Read more
Just a note to thank you for the time you spent with me Saturday in evaluating my running technique and body alignment.  Your suggestions are already making sense and having an early impact.  After our meeting, I went out for a 5K run and found you… Read more
I have been receiving PT therapy for pain and autoimmune disorders for over 18 months at The Manual Touch.  This also affects my kidneys and my lungs and other organs as I swell with fluid that my lymph system doesn’t seem to handle well.  I depe… Read more
Excellent, professional assessment and treatment for an older woman who’s had lots of failed therapy. Kind and compassionate and caring! Thanks.
I can honestly say that Denise was the first physical therapist to listen to my story.   She has demonstrated more patience and compassion than any other therapist that I’ve ever met. For the past 8 years, I have been symptomatic with Ehlers Danlo… Read more
Read More

RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE

Copyright © 2023 The Manual Touch, LLC. · 325 n. milwaukee ave. · Ste D. · Wheeling, IL. 60090 · 847-541-7600

The information provided on The Manual Touch Physical Therapy website is for personal and noncommercial use only. The resources and content provided should be used for educational purposes only and not as a substitute for appropriate medical care. If you are experiencing pain or discomfort please seek medical attention.