Movement without pain

The misconception of “feel the burn”, or “no pain no gain.” , are outdated concepts of human movement science.

Delayed onset muscle soreness, also known as DOMS, occurs when the muscles experience stiffness and pain after a new exercise regime, increased weight used, and exercising for the first time in a while. It should only last for 24-48 hours.

DOMS is a sign that your muscles have micro tears, that lead to regeneration of muscle tissue, in order to for our muscles to get stronger.

How do I know whether I have pushed my body too hard?

1. When you experience DOMS for more than 72 hours.

2. When you can’t move properly, you’ve probably overdone it.

3. If you cannot sleep, due to pain.

4. When the stiffness starts during an exercise, you are putting your muscles at risk of injury.

This is dangerous, because it may have lead to injured muscles, ligaments and joints. It also means that your muscles have taken more strain than they should have.

Rest and recovery are key. When experiencing DOMS, active recovery, for example, walking, stretching and foam rolling is so important. You only have one body and you need to take care of it.

I am not totally innocent in this regard, I have overdone exercising countless times, but as I’m getting older my body doesn’t bounce back as fast anymore. It’s really important that you know your limitations and work with a personal trainer with adequate knowledge of the human body and the physiology behind it.

Pain

Pain is a relative term that can be brought back to so many different factors in an individuals life. Are you accustomed to life’s stressors, do you have ways to numb pain, or avoid it. We all have a limitation, where our mind and body stop us. This is usually the point where chronic pain becomes prevalent.

You may experience specific body pains, one of the most common pain is back pain, and although this can be related to bad posture, it is often overlooked, that when stress in life increases chronic pain may increase in a certain areas.

There are many famous quotes about using movement as medicine, and this speaks true for reducing chronic pain, but we must not neglect the holistic treatment methods, that help us to gain perspective about the pain we are experiencing. Get to the root cause, because fixing pain on the surface may be a great temporary relief, but dealing with the psychological and nutritional factors that may play a roll in this, is worth investing in.

I have recently seen a Health Professional who reminded me of these things. Yes, as a Health coach I talk to my clients about all of this, but just like everyone you need to be reminded time and time again to reset and look after yourself.

Have some patience with yourself in pain. Look after yourself and your body. Do not move through pain, if it’s just getting worse, chances are that you may be doing more harm than good.

Start there and you will continue in your journey to move without pain.

Xoxo Dan the Wooman