Maybe it didn’t happen overnight. Maybe it started as a slight discomfort when getting up. Or that stiffness that shows up after sitting for too long. Perhaps it was a knee , a hip , or a shoulder that began to send a signal. When the body hurts, our first instinct is usually to protect ourselves. We move less. We avoid. We try to take care of ourselves by staying still. And that makes sense. No one wants to make the pain worse. But over time, many people notice something fru