Prioritizing Health in 2026: Your Best Year Starts Now

As the year winds down and the holiday lights start twinkling (and our schedules mysteriously fill up with cookies), it’s the perfect time to pause, reflect, and look ahead.

While 2025 gave us plenty to learn from, 2026 is calling and it’s asking one big question: Are you ready to put your health first… or at least stop putting it off until “after the holidays”? At Rehabon, we believe health isn’t just a resolution it’s a lifestyle. What a better time than the holidays to start setting the tone for a healthier, happier year ahead? (Yes, balance still allows dessert.)

Health in 2026: More Than Just “Eating Better”

Let’s be real, health isn’t about perfection. If it were, most of us would’ve been disqualified somewhere between the holiday parties and the leftovers. Health is about progress.

In 2026, prioritizing health means:

• Listening to your body (it’s smarter than we think, and surprisingly honest)

• Moving with purpose, whether that’s stretching, walking, or strengthening. No extreme routines required

• Taking care of your mind, not just your muscles (stress needs recovery too)

• Recovering properly, because rest isn’t a reward, it’s part of the process

Health is personal. It looks different for everyone, and that’s exactly how it should be.

Small Steps, Big Wins

You don’t need a dramatic makeover to make meaningful change. Some of the most powerful habits are the simplest:

• Standing up and stretching more (your back will notice)

• Choosing consistency over intensity (burnout isn’t a goal)

• Asking for help when your body needs support

• Celebrating progress, no matter how small

These little wins add up. Before you know it, you’re stronger, more confident, and moving through life with a little more ease, and a lot fewer “why does that hurt?” moments.

Enjoy the Holidays (Yes, Really!)

The holidays aren’t about guilt, they’re about joy, connection, and balance. Enjoy the treats, the laughter, and the moments that matter. Health includes happiness too, and no one ever improved their well-being by stressing over one extra cookie. Taking care of yourself during the holidays helps you feel even better when January rolls around.

Happy Holidays and a Healthy New Year!

As we close out the year, we want to say thank you. Thank you for trusting us, supporting us, and being part of the Rehabon community. We’re grateful for every step, stretch, and success we’ve shared with you. May 2026 bring you strength, resilience, and plenty of reasons to smile. We can’t wait to keep moving forward together.

Cheers to health, healing, and a brand-new year!

Discomfort and soreness are a part of life. What is not normal is living with pain. If you are still experiencing that pain, it's time to talk to your physical therapist or primary care physician.

Try to stay away from narcotics, injections and knife happy surgeons as a primary option for your treatment. There are no magic bullets, but majority of pain symptoms can be resolved with conservative measures like exercises, manual therapy and pain management.

• Irfan Ibrahim is an Owner/Physical Therapist at Rehabon Physical Therapy, Downers Grove IL 60515. He enjoys sunshine and rainbows with his three children. Loves hiking, biking and golfing but he has accepted to live with his mediocre skills. Questions??!! Email him: Irfan@rehabon.com  follow him on Facebook

  
  

• Aimee Cervantes, Rehab Tech at Rehabon Physical Therapy. Aimee is a PTA graduate and has experience at different settings of Physical Therapy. She is currently studying for her licensure exam! Aimee's hobbies are crafting and graphic design. She enjoys seeing her ideas come to life!