Moving well when you are in pain

The first response to pain is usually to stop moving. That makes sense in the short term, but it rarely helps for long: tissue that is not used gets weaker, and fear of movement keeps the complaint going on its own.

Rest is only the answer in the first few days

With a fresh injury it makes sense to go easy. After a few days, though, most musculoskeletal complaints improve with gradual, measured movement rather than with lying down. The question is not whether to move, but what and how much.

Four things that decide whether movement is helping

Does the pain build during it. With many complaints a mild, tolerable level is acceptable. If it gets steadily worse while you move, that is a warning to stop.

What happens the next day. The most useful feedback does not come during the session but twenty-four hours later. If the next day is worse, it was too much.

Does the quality of movement change. If your technique falls apart under load, your body is already compensating with something else, and from then on you are not training what you meant to train.

Are there warning signs. Numbness, radiating pain, loss of strength, fever, sudden swelling. These call for a doctor, not for training.

What is worth doing

Small doses, often. A few minutes a day is worth more than one big session a week. Keeping your range of movement matters more than the weight. And it is worth choosing movement that does not provoke the complaint: if bending is bad, there are ten other exercises that are not bending.

What will not make it better

The belief that stretching fixes everything. In many complaints the tightness does not come from shortening but from load, and stretching gives temporary relief at best. The other common mistake is comparison: your old self is a poor yardstick right now.

Where the line is

This article is general information, not advice on your particular complaint. Movement does not replace a medical examination and a diagnosis. With sudden, severe or radiating pain, numbness, recent surgery or an accident, see a doctor first.