“No pain, no gain” is possibly one of the most overused phrases in sporting circles.
From coaches to athletes themselves most sporting personalities have been trained to believe that pain is an inevitable element of training which can be overcome with persistent training and will power.
While this reasoning might hold true to certain cases including muscle stiffness and soreness, continuous strain to an irritated muscle group might aggravate a minor situation into a more serious one.
A prime example of injuries occurring as a result of straining beyond the point of initial pain is RSI (repetitive strain injury) a condition which can lead to much severe injuries when due attention isn’t paid.
Pointed out that persistent pain is bad news, there are a few areas that should be cause for immediate alarm and professional attention.
Head/Neck Pain
Head pain is a cause for concern for two major reasons. One being that pain in the head or neck area is almost always an indicator of bad form and there are hardly any exercise movements which are intended to cause strain to the neck or head directly. This type of pain occurs primarily when squatting and is due to blood vessels in the region being overloaded with the strain of the heavy weight or due to a muscle seizing unable to cope with the weight. It’s important to pay attention to pain of this nature to avoid permanent serious injuries.
Groin Pain
Pain or soreness in the groin area especially when performing squats, deadlifts or lunges is cause for concern. From the more obvious conditions like hernia to less blatant ones like a pulled inner thigh muscle, groin pain could be foretelling of an injury that might cause your schedule to come to a halt not to mention the discomfort or inability to perform everyday tasks.
Back Pain
Back pain is one of the pains that have gained a great deal of awareness, with fitness instructors always attempting to protect the back of new gym members. The reason really is simple, most weight routines that involve bringing the weight over your shoulders places tremendous stress on the vertebral column. Pain in this region is almost always a reason for worry mainly because of the wide range of mishaps that could be the reason, from a pinched nerve to a slip disc, both of which will render you in a bedridden state.
Ankle Pain
Runners should especially be mindful of ankle pains. Most athletes have got accustomed to running through the pain, which is swell if not for a sprained ankle or pulled ligament, both conditions which results in weeks or months away from training. Ankle injuries also are harder to heal due to the weight constantly placed on them throughout a day’s work.
Lightheadedness and Hunger
Even though these don’t qualify as pains necessarily, both conditions can have major repercussions. Lightheadedness for example is a sign of low blood pressure, even though a certain degree of it is expected in some individuals. Persistent lightheadedness is a cause for concern especially since fainting during a workout could result in worse injuries. Hunger on the other side is something that may act against your workout goals by either burning into your muscle mass or providing low levels of energy and in turn lower performance.
Shin Pain
This one is a little harder to determine since lactic acid storage causes a shin splint every now and then but if the condition persists it’s a good idea to get it checked. The reason being that continuous shin pain is an indicator of a fracture stress being placed on the bone and also may be due to bad footwear or posture.
Though most will agree that pain by definition is negative and should be cause for attention, a certain element of pain is a positive factor in exercise and training.
However a little extra attention to these types of pain may save you some time from resting an injury.
(Article by Dilshan Senaratne)
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