Back2Yourself

Sometimes we use our pain and discomfort to justify why we don’t exercise – we believe or convince ourselves that our pain means we shouldn’t exercise. While there may be some cases where this is appropriate, those cases are few. It is important to understand the nature of our physical pain and to interpret what our pain is telling us. In general, exercise leads to a better quality of life. Don’t deny yourself this opportunity because you don’t understand your pain. Be curious about your pain; notice the subtleties of your sensations so you can understand what they are telling you about your body.

It is important to notice if the pain/discomfort happens only during the movement of the exercise or if it happens all the time. Does the pain/discomfort lessen, get worse, or stay the same after the exercise? Is the pain you feel during exercise actually your muscles saying, “Wow, this is hard work, my muscles are tired and weak; this exercise is good for me because it is making me stronger, even though it’s uncomfortable.” Or, is your pain saying, “This exercise is aggravating my ailment and making it worse; stop doing it or modify how you’re doing it.”

If your pain is telling you that your muscles are weak and need strengthening, then it is important to be diligent about exercising. It may be appropriate to modify the exercises so that they are easier – you don’t want to feel so fatigued that you aren’t able to maintain proper alignment, as that could cause injury. Eventually, as you build strength and stamina, you will be able to increase the exercise demand. You will likely find that the pain decreases. In this way, exercising with the pain/discomfort will bring you to a pain-free life.

If your pain is aggravating your ailment, you need to stop the exercise or modify it to continue exercise while eliminating the aggravating movement. In this way, your pain is a personal teacher, guiding you as to how to proceed with appropriate movement and exercise.

As you become more curious about your pain/discomfort you will begin to notice subtleties in your sensations and to be able describe them with a wider array of adjectives such as tight, sore, weak, fatigued, sharp, or dull. It is as if you were drawing with only two colors (pain and painless) and then were given several more different colors to use. With many more colors your drawing can become more detailed, textured, and varied. The detail provides you a better appreciation and understanding of your body, exercise, and the effect of exercise on your body.