Is there such a thing as good pain and bad pain?
Yes, but what is important is knowing the difference between muscular ache/pain from normal training loads and demands, and muscular ache/pain from overtraining/injury.
Muscular pain/ DOMS
Tough training session the day before and struggling to lift your arms to wash your hair or put your jacket on? Yeah we’ve all been there. Generally, muscular pain post exercise can range anywhere on the
pain scale from 0 – 5
and can be incredibly inconvenient but after a few days you will find that this eases off. This ‘pain’ that you are experiencing here is called delayed onset of muscular soreness (DOMS) and isn’t something to be majorly worried. DOMS can last anywhere up to 3 days, if it is lasting longer, it may be worth considering that it is not DOMS and to see advice from a medical professional.
To define pain, Physiotherapist’s use the VAS scale (visual analogue scale) which ranges from 0 -10, with 0 being no pain and 10 being the absolute worst pain in the world (note – if you’re able to sit in front of me and tell me you’re in 10/10 pain, you are not in 10/10 pain).
- 1
Warm up and cool down efficiently
- 2
Stretch it out
- 3
Hydrate yourself – did you know being dehydrated as little as 5% can impair performance by up to 30%
- 4
Ice baths (if you are brave enough!)
- 5
Self massage/foam rolling.
- 6
Nutrition, nutrition, nutrition!
If you have followed these steps, but found that your pain is persisting for more than 4-5 days or is greater than 5 on the VAS scale it may be you’ve sustained an injury or are overtraining and this is something that needs to be looked into by a trained professional further.
Overtraining pain
Overtraining is misunderstood. In gymnastics, overuse injuries accounted for 44% of injuries.
It’s so common because we love what we do and as a community you can often hear the phrases ‘circus hurts’ and ‘no pain, no gain’ shouted out across the studio.
So, how do we identify overtraining, what are the signs?
Stage 1 of overtraining can appear as a slight decrease in performance, feeling lethargic, having injuries that never seem to heal or a cold that won’t go away.
Stage 2 of overtraining can appear as a euphoric episode, where a ‘second wind’ occurs.
Due to the increased stresses you’re putting your body under, an increased energy will be felt as the adrenal glands kick into high gear to cope with the extra demands. This can present as an over excited state, feeling restless and a feeling of not requiring any sleep. Whilst this feels fantastic, your high cortisol levels can lead to increased insulin, reducing fat burning and increasing your fat storage!
If you find yourself desperately craving carbs this say be a sign of being in stage 2 overtraining.
To combat this to prevent you heading into stage 3, look at what recovery is going to be required to get you back on track and monitor your dietary requirements accordingly.
Stage 3 results from chronic overtraining. Now stage 3 is very serious and if you see yourself landing in this zone you need to take a step back and fully evaluate your lifestyle and training demands.
Stage 3 can lead to serious brain, muscle and metabolic imbalances due to the excessive exhaustive demands being placed upon the body.
The most notable side effect of stage 3 is severe exhaustion and can lead to people burning out and potentially taking early retirement from their desired sport as a consequence. Not only that, but, it has the potential to damage your health, increasing your risk of recurrent injuries, recurrent illnesses and infections and increasing your risk of chronic diseases of the major organs.
Landing in this zone unfortunately isn’t just a quick fix and can sometimes take athletes years to recover from.
Now, this blog post isn’t intended to scare you, it’s intended to make you think.
Think about how your training is going, what are your energy levels doing? Do you need a rest? A change in diet? Modify your lifestyle? Increase your rest days?
It’s YOUR body, listen to it, the signs are there you just need to stop, take a step back and listen.
To book an appointment, email fizzylemonphysiotherapy@gmail.com
References
Injury epidemiology and risk factors in competitive artistic gymnasts: A systematic review. Campbell et al. January 2
Breaking muscle. Overtraining can kill you by Andrew Read. Image by Unsplash/”>https://breakingmuscle.com/overtraining-can-kill-you-the-3-stages-of-overtraining-part-
Burnout image – https://unsplash.com/photos/krUUaZ4GvHk?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditShareLink
Blueberries Image – https://unsplash.com/photos/4qujjbj3srs?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditShareLink
