Training With Pain

Pain does not always equal damage

This is a fundamental principle to remember when considering exercise, especially for individuals who experience chronic pain. While pain can be a signal that something isn’t quite right in our bodies, it doesn’t necessarily mean there is significant damage or danger present. Understanding this concept can empower individuals to approach exercise in a more nuanced and effective manner, allowing them to reap the benefits without exacerbating their discomfort.

Pain scale

One helpful tool for navigating pain during exercise is the pain scale, which ranges from 0 to 10. A score of 0 indicates no pain, while 10 represents the worst pain imaginable. It’s essential to pay attention to where your pain falls on this scale and adjust your exercise intensity accordingly. Mild discomfort rated around 1-3 or pain that you deem manageable (if you find pain scales difficult) is usually safe to push through. Activities that cause pain that you do not deem manageable or activities that cause your pain to increase for more than 24 hours are usually signs that you are doing a bit too much a bit too soon.

Change one thing at a time

When managing pain during exercise, it’s crucial to adopt a gradual approach and change one thing at a time. Activity or exercise levels can usually be broken down into 3 main components; frequency (how often), intensity (how hard) and duration (how long). For someone returning to running after an injury, we will look to “lock” two of these variables and change one at a time. For example, maintain a frequency of twice per week and an intensity of 6 minutes per kilometer but progressively increase the duration for which they are running. By making small, incremental changes, you can better assess how your body responds and identify which strategies are most effective in managing your pain.

Psychological factors are often overlooked

While physical factors certainly play a significant role in pain perception, psychological factors can also exert a powerful influence. Low levels of sleep, such as regularly getting less than six hours of sleep per night or experiencing sleep that’s rarely unbroken, can contribute to increased pain sensitivity and decreased pain tolerance. Similarly, high levels of stress and low mood can exacerbate pain symptoms. For example, someone who is going through a stressful period at work or home may experience heightened stress levels, leading to disrupted sleep patterns and worsened mood. This, in turn, can amplify their experience of pain, making it more challenging to manage. Many people will often perceive this as increased damage to their body. This in turn increases stress levels further and perpetuates the cycle.

It’s important to keep as active as you are able to

Avoiding activity altogether when experiencing pain can lead to losing fitness and conditioning. This means that when you finally decide to get back into exercise, your body isn’t as prepared as it used to be. This sudden increase in workload when returning to exercise can actually increase your risk of injury, creating a cycle where you exercise intensely for a short period, then rest because of injury or pain, and then start the intense exercise again when you feel better. It’s a boom-and-bust cycle that isn’t good for your body in the long run. So, it’s important to find ways to stay active and manage pain safely to avoid falling into this cycle.

Summary

• Pain does not always indicate damage; manageable pain that settles within 24 hours can often be pushed through during exercise without causing harm.
• Utilizing the pain scale, which ranges from 0 to 10, helps individuals gauge the severity of pain and adjust their exercise intensity accordingly.
• Adopting a gradual approach and changing one aspect of exercise at a time, such as intensity, duration, or type, allows for better assessment of how the body responds to manage pain effectively.
• Psychological factors, including low sleep levels, high stress, and low mood, can significantly influence pain perception and tolerance.

For further information or assistance, feel free to reach out.