10 Tips for Navigating Pain

I hope you are looking forward to some adventure and activity this weekend!

Summer is winding down, fall is approaching, and activity levels are ramping up. With that, you may notice new aches/pains or injuries that come along with the increase in activity or trying something new.

This usually boils down to doing too much too soon after too little for too long.

In other words, you exceed your capacity and injuries start to pop up or your body begins to send you more of these pain signals to let you know you’re progressing too quickly.

Whether that happens to you or you’re managing a prior injury, I want to equip you with 10 tips for continuing to live active while managing pain.

It’s crucial that we keep you moving and training as normal as possible and modify only that which needs it to help with your recovery.

1. Prioritize doing what feels good. Seriously, keep moving in ways that you tolerate well. Its crucial that you stay active as much as you can even with the presence of pain.

1. Add some more recovery! In a lot of cases, the problem is just that we are not allowing adequate time to recover between training sessions when you are stuck in the pain cycle. Try adding in an extra rest day especially before higher intensity sessions. And make sure you are resting long enough between sets/intervals. “Enough” depends on the context of what you are doing. Feel free to message me if you have questions

2. Patience - it takes as long as it takes. There will be ups and downs and that is a part of the process. We’re shooting for a general upward trajectory. You don’t check the stock market every day, if you did you’d be dissapointed with all the ups and downs. It matters where the market is at when you cash out. It’s a long term game.

3. Consider your stress/sleep - Stress is stress is stress. It doesn’t matter whether it is physical or psychological. We have a limited stress capacity and poor sleep patterns or excessive stress can contribute to elevated pain levels and injury risk.

4. Keep Track! I have all my patients to make a mental journal or physical journal of what they experience and when. Take notes on your training or your time out on the trail, road, or in the gym and what your symptoms are before/after. What gets measured gets managed - this can give us valuable insight into what might need modification. It will also show you how you are progressing based on symptoms, volume, or intensity tolerated!

5. Reduce the load This is one of the simplest modifications. If you’re keeping track, you now know where you can dial it back so you can keep training or getting out on the road without flaring things up. For lifting this means less weight, but you can add a few reps to the set to still get a good training effect. For running and cycling this can mean slower pace or less intense grades.

6. Reduce Volume It’s not always a specific load problem. But rather that you’re simply just doing too much and you are not able to effectively recover from it.

7. Modify the tempo - slow things down.Movement speed increases stress in a given movement. Slowing the tempo can give your body the input it needs to made a change.

8. Adjust range of motion This is a bit more movement specific. Typically the bottom or most stretched position is less tolerable in those with pain/injury. If this is you, change up the range of motion and perform it only through the ranges you tolerate to maintain the movement. Over time, increase the range of motion until it becomes fully tolerable.

9. Work on mobility up/down the chain. Lacking mobility up or down stream from the painful area can contribute to compensations and movement patterns that cause the area to take on more stress. Are your knees bothering you? Free up the ankle and the hips and see what happens.

This list is certainly not exhaustive and by no means should you try them all at once. Start with one and stick with it for 3-4 weeks and see if that creates some change.

If you’re still struggling and want to take the guesswork out of it, consider working with a professional to help you sort through it.

Have a specific question? Just reply to this email and I will be happy to help.

Let’s move forward, together.