Is No Pain, No Gain Correct?
September 29, 2020 – Today is the last installment of our September blog series about pain. There is a common saying we all have heard, “no pain, no gain”. Is this true? In therapy we often spend a lot of time educating our patients on what pain is and how to deal with it. Does there need to be pain to see results? The answer is yes and no.
Pain is often the body’s way of signaling to us that something is wrong. Pain can be an early warning sign that we need to adjust what we are doing to avoid a new injury or making an old injury worse. Pain does not always mean stop, but it should mean slow down and re-evaluate what we are doing. If no pain, no gain is not the right way to push our body then what do we do?
Soreness is a better way to look at the intensity at which we are doing things. This can be thought of the initial period of pain or the “hurts so good” pain. We can feel this with certain activities or stretches. You can also think of how your form affects soreness or pain. If you are squatting and you are starting to get tired, then your form will start to suffer. If you push through this too much, then that soreness can quickly turn into pain due to poor form.
In summary it is important to understand what pain is and how it can be affecting you. If you get a sharp pain during a workout you are probably doing too much or doing something wrong and you need to stop immediately. If you are not feeling any soreness after a workout you are probably not doing enough.
Give Witte PT a call at 402-234-3333 in Louisville or 402-298-4747 in Plattsmouth for a free consultation to discuss your current fitness, issues you are having with getting over pain or getting back in shape, or to discuss any other health issues you may have.