Get Rid of Chronic Pain: Listen to Your Body!

The idea of “No Pain, No Gain” has been used for years to refer to the amount of energy, or intensity, a trainee exerts during a workout. And while I do believe a certain level of discomfort should be felt while training to stimulate improvement, there is a clear difference between muscle soreness and the “burn” and pain caused from injury.

Too often we hear phrases like “push through the pain” or “work through it” from within the fitness industry. Sports coaches, athletic trainers and various instructors have all yelled out these phrases, which in my opinion are nothing more than ignorant statements that are used to test one’s bravado and dedication.

The fact is that pain exists for a reason - to let you know when something is wrong. Think of pain as your body’s voice helping you pinpoint an area of injury or possibly a serious health issue. You must pay attention!

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To be clear, muscle burning and soreness from a workout is not what we’re worried about. The concern arises when you have chronic pain in a specific area. For example, maybe one hip aches, one shoulder hurts when moved a certain way or you have a pulsing pain on one side of your lower back. These are all signals that something more serious than your average workout soreness exists, and no matter how insignificant they may seem, they should be taken very seriously.

I once heard a fascinating lecture in which the presenter explained how stubbing your toe could lead to disc problems in your neck! It seems unrelated, but your body strives to be balanced and centered. When an injury exists, it can cause muscular imbalances and potential injuries elsewhere on the body. When an injury is present, you will usually “favor” that side, which in turn will recruit other muscles to make up for the weakness. This can lead to overdeveloping muscles on one side, which can disrupt the natural strength and balance of the body and usually leads to more injury. In the stubbed toe scenario, the “gait" (or way in which a person walks) changes drastically with a toe injury. It can cause a ripple effect all the way up the spine. It’s truly a vicious cycle.

Which leads me to the simple, yet usually ignored solution: Listen to your body! I know missing a few days, or even two weeks, at the gym seems like an eternity, but when you’re injured, you must rest the area to allow for full recovery. Continuing to punish an already damaged area to feed your ego can have serious consequences. I landed myself in the ER with a searing pain in my shoulder that needed almost immediate surgery due to my neglect of constant pain. After warming up with lighter weights, the pain always seemed to subside when in the gym, but the day after was absolute torture. Had I seen a doctor, and followed an appropriate course of rest, ice and possible rehab, I may have never required such extensive surgery.

I define chronic pain as one that lasts more than three days, wakes you up, isn’t subsiding with rest, is present on only one side of your body and one you are constantly aware of. When you first suspect an injury has occurred, rest, use ice and seek a professional diagnosis if the pain persists. Trust me, I know first hand that it’s better to spend weeks out of the gym and recover fully, than to push through pain and end up having to wait months to recover from surgery.