One question I hear from many of our patients at The Sports Specialist Rehab Centre is “Should physical activity be painful?”. Generally, the answer is “No”.
Physical activity can be loosely defined as a voluntary activity performed by an individual for a specific purpose that leads to movement and force generated from the body. This can include exercise, sports or rehab. The forces generated during physical activity can place stress upon the muscle tissue, joints and supportive tissue. As such, it is common and sometimes expected that during physical activity, there can be some discomfort (i.e. “hurt”). For example, if I am playing tennis, I would expect some minimal discomfort in my wrist, elbow and possibly shoulder. That said, this “hurt” does not necessarily translate to damage of body tissue. However, if a physical activity is ever painful (i.e. “harm”) while being performed, generally, that is not a good sign. This may indicate that you are damaging tissue as opposed to just engaging it. As such, should a physical activity ever become painful, please stop the activity immediately! The age old adage of “no pain, no gain” is not a fruitful one. The pain generated while performing an activity could represent significant trauma to an area and could have long term and far reaching implications.
Everyone’s definition of pain is completely subjective. So you, the individual, become the best judge at deciding when an activity becomes harmful, and not just a bit hurtful. If you should have any questions or questions regarding when an activity is hurtful versus. harmful, please don’t hesitate to contact one of our therapists who would be more than happy to explain!
Be active but be safe!
Dr. Paolo De Ciantis