Pushing Through the Pain?

This is yet another of my ‘soapbox’ topics! Many individuals associate exercise with pain and are under the impression that an exercise isn’t doing anything if it doesn’t hurt. As with any sport or activity, when the intensity of training goes up, unfortunately so does the chance of injury. This is why it's important to know what kind of pain you are dealing with when exercising.

Keep in mind that muscle fatigue is not the same as pain. There is a certain degree of discomfort within an exercise, but that discomfort should not feel like a sharp or shooting pain. If you do feel this type of pain with a movement or exercise, you should stop immediately and evaluate where the pain is coming from and what is causing it. Be sure to contact a doctor if the pain is persistent or if it worsens.

Some discomfort is part of athletic activities and is necessary for the improvement of performance. For muscle strength to increase, the muscle must see some increase in stress over what it is used to seeing, and this stress is usually perceived as the "burn" in muscle during activity. This mild "burn" is what we call "good pain" and is probably what people are referring to when they say, "No Pain, No Gain." This pain should be short-lived and during the activity only.

The post-workout pain that creeps up a day or two after a heavy workout is called Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS). Sitting hurts, climbing stairs hurts, walking hurts, etc. You may wonder at times if it is normal to feel so much pain and if you should work out when you feel like that. I usually tell people to come in and do something light to allow the soreness to dissipate more quickly. Most of the time, post-workout pain is nothing to worry about, but sometimes it can be a sign of injury.

There are many exercises designed to offer strengthening benefits without the mild “burn” being produced at all (e.g., opposite arm and leg on your stomach, bridges). So if you are an individual using the burn as the gauge to whether your program is effective you may be missing a very important component to your training program.