How to Modify Your Workouts While in Pain
We recently discussed how to best return to the gym post injury, and that is a very important step in building confidence in getting back to your fitness goals. To build off of that topic, let’s discuss today how to continue being active while modifying around pain and injury. We believe this is so important to still continue moving at the level you can without just stopping all activity. Let’s get into it!
You love to stay active, but a recent pain episode or injury is having you second guess if you should go to the gym/on that run/perform that activity. We are here to tell you that you absolutely should still do that thing… in a modified manner. We believe that modifying is a great way to not just give up the activity in the meantime while you work on eliminating your pain. Modifying can still be highly successful in your recovery journey, so we wanted to outline how we most frequently discuss doing this in the clinic.
Our best ways to consider modifying are as follows:
Maybe the most obvious, but also still very worth noting, is keep ranges of motion that you can tolerate. Tolerate may not mean pain free, and it also doesn’t HAVE to be pain free in the majority of cases (in absence of pathology), but it isn’t worth trying to propel forward with a ‘no pain, no gain’ mindset.
While keeping in ranges of motion you can tolerate, the next variable we like to modify is frequency. Sometimes injury and pain is presence of doing too much for too long. Decreasing the frequency, if found to be an agitating variable, is another next step.
Intensity is the third we like to modify, but also the one we try to keep consistent if and when we can. We will group ‘load’ into this one as well, but that could be considered its own category in some cases. Intensity and load would be regarding how ‘hard’ you are working and how much external stress you are applying. If you are lifting weights and a certain weight is painful at both a modified range of motion and frequency you are dosing them at, decrease the load to find the highest amount tolerable. If you can maintain your intensity output, PLEASE DO! Research continues to support even body weight high intensity activity because you are getting a great cardiovascular ‘pump’ and in turn, flushing the chemical mediators in the painful area by bringing significant fresh blood flow to the space.
These are infinitely scalable options and conversations we have daily with our clients, and would be more than happy to discuss with you have to best modify your workouts in the short term to help you return to full activity without pain.
Looking for assistance in modifying your workouts in presence of pain? Let’s chat! We would be happy to discuss further how Loon State Physical Therapy can be a teammate in getting you back to moving and feeling your best! Our convenient Minneapolis physical therapy, Edina physical therapy, and Stillwater physical therapy locations will happily welcome you to get you back to moving at your best. Call us at (612) 405-8503 or book with us online at www.loonstatephysicaltherapy.com for an in-person or virtual appointment.
We look forward to being your teammate through this journey!
Andrew Eccles
Owner and Physical Therapist at Loon State Physical Therapy
