Whether our patients are training for fitness, wellness, rehabilitation or prehabilitation, they often ask if they can progress with their training when feeling pain or soreness in their (fill in the blank). Here’s a good strategy to know the difference between hurt (i.e. pain for gains) vs. harm (i.e. risk of injury/sprains/strains).
Ask yourself the following questions:
+ Did I experience any difficulty finishing my last training session ?
+ Are any of my aches or pains lasting longer than 2 – 3 days?
+ Am I excessively tired the day after my training session?
?If you answered NO to all three questions, then continue to train with your current regimen since you are currently experiencing benign pain .
?If you answered YES to any of the above:
? Do NOT increase your frequency, intensity, or duration of your training sessions until all of the above answers are NO to avoid injury
? Contact a health provider (Chiropractor, Physiotherapist, etc.) who has great experience with sports injury management and have them teach you some self-management techniques
? take a day off from training
?If you feel pain during the warm up of your training session (i.e. the first 5 minutes ) but then it goes away:
?you can safely continue, but monitor the situation.
?if the pain returns during your training session, stop and cool down. If it goes away within 1 – 2mins of cooling down, then you can try to resume training session.
?if it returns a second time, stop and do continue with your training session that day. Treat the area with ice and use the 3 questions above to determine when you can return to your training program.
?If your pain comes on during a training session:
? it should never be greater than a 4/10, where 0 is no pain and 10 represents the greatest pain you can ever imagine .
? If your pain is above a 4/10 for 2+ days with rest, you should be diagnosed/assessed/treated by a health care practitioner experienced with sports injuries as you may have an evolving injury .
?If the pain onsets shortly after your training session and is less than a 4/10, treat with ice, and on your next scheduled training day, reduce your intensity by 10-15% percent.
?If the pain comes on the day after the training session, it is likely delayed onset muscle soreness, (DOMS). DOMS usually presents 24 – 48 hours after a new activity or change in your training style or duration and can last for 1 – 3 days. It is the result of the muscle repairing and rebuilding itself due to your hard training efforts so you can safely continue to work through your training routine.
If you are training today…. Make it a great day!!!