“Should I Push Through Pain?” One Simple Analogy to Guide You

“No Pain, No Gain.” We’ve all heard it from old coaches or trainers, for better or for worse. While the quote does have some merit…maybe…it often makes me, as a physical therapist, cringe to hear it when people describe their exercise habits. There is truth in the phrase. To make changes, i.e. gain strength, your body needs to be pushed to its limit in  order to come out stronger. This is where soreness comes into play. Many of us have felt that good soreness after a workout. That’s science coming into play. Wolff’s Law, to be exact-the body adapts to the changes put upon it.

So that’s great, right? No pain no gain must be true? You need to stress tissue for it to adapt and come back stronger, correct. However, too much pain can be detrimental to that tissue. This is where overuse and overload injuries occur. When the muscle cannot tolerate the load placed on it, what happens then? The answer is injury and pain. 

Navigating the seas between pain and gain is a tough and choppy journey. You can ask any physical therapist, personal trainer, exercise physiologist, chiropractor, strength coach, etc. and they will tell you that they have been asked numerous times, “How do I know when it’s too much? When should I stop?” Many will give you different answers, depending on what field they are in and what the clients’ goals are. But, there is one specific analogy out there that I find to be extremely helpful in how to think about this. You’ve seen it everyday all over Baltimore.

The Stop Light

Green means go; Red means stop. Yellow (well that depends who you ask) means slow down. We’re going to use these signals as a way to think about when to keep going on an exercise, and when to hit the breaks. 

First, you need to ask yourself this, how bad is my pain right now? Rate that answer 0-10, 0 being no pain at all, 10 being I need to go to the emergency room it hurts so bad. Your number is your number-be honest with yourself. Don’t compare that number to what you think others may feel, just go with your gut. That number will guide you through this analogy.

Green Light (0-3/10 Pain): Green light means continue on. This may feel like typical soreness or achiness on a low level. When doing an exercise that causes this low of pain, you are most likely safe to continue with it. This level of pain is healthy and may be promoting the changes you are looking for when working out.

Yellow Light (4-6/10 Pain): Yellow light means slow down. It does not mean stop (yet), but it definitely does not mean hit the gas and blow through the light. 4, 5, or 6 out of 10 pain is pretty significant, so what you should be thinking is, “What can I do to get back to a green light?” The answer may be a few things. First, check your technique. Make sure posture and form are correct. You can also lighten up your weight, change grip, or take a short break and return to the exercise afterwards. If you are able to return to the exercise following the modifications you made and the pain has dropped into our “Green Zone” you can continue on. If you cannot, you should stop the exercise and attempt to do something else. If it continues to linger you should make an appointment with a physical therapist to be assessed and find out how to turn your pain around.

Red Light (7-10/10 Pain): Red light means stop. Your pain has now reached a level where it is likely unsafe to continue this exercise. This is especially important if your pain has become sharp, burning, numbness or tingling. You’re in the danger zone where injury can occur. Your next step should be making an appointment with one of our doctors of PT in order to be assessed and figure out why this pain is happening when you’re exercising. 

Hopefully, this analogy helps gives you some guidance and clarity when navigating the choppy seas between pain and gain. There are always exceptions to these types of rules, so feel free to contact any of our doctors of physical therapy for further guidance on how to avoid injury and reach your goals. 

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