ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, April 7, 1997 TAG: 9704070132
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DEBBIE HORN KNIGHT-RIDDER/TRIBUNE
Pain isn't always bad, but it demands you listen
As the weather warms up, many people will jump on their bikes, buy new running shoes and pull out their catcher's mitts to get ready for summer sports. Unfortunately, after that first day on the court or during that first sprint around the bases, they will also feel body aches and pains.
What do these pains mean? What can you do to relieve them? Does pain indicate progress or problems? Should you ``work through'' them or take time off?
First, if you are experiencing pain when you start a new exercise or sport, you need to analyze the pain itself followed by the movements that cause it. Let's start with the pain. Is it discrete? In other words, are you unable to point out a specific spot? Is the pain sharp or dull? Intermittent or continuous? Are there specific movements that aggravate or alleviate it?
Although pain can have a number of causes, here are some tips to help you identify exercise-related pain. Let's look first at muscle vs. joint pain. One to two days after a strenuous workout, it is normal to feel delayed-onset muscle soreness. If you analyze the exercise you were doing, this pain will predominate in the muscle groups you used most intensely. DOMS is also a common consequence of trying a new exercise or sport. This is due to the fact that skills or movements are muscle specific, and each recruits muscle fibers in a slightly different manner.
Therefore, if you have been doing squats regularly for the past six months, you have been strengthening your quads, glutes and hamstrings. But, if tomorrow you throw in a few sets of lunges, you might be surprised at how sore you are. While you are recruiting similar major muscles, the actual pattern of recruitment is different; and, therefore, with each new movement, you are in a sense starting over.
This type of pain is usually muscular and often diffuse. The soreness can be lessened with light aerobic activity that uses the muscles that hurt. If you used both your right and left legs to do the lunges, you will experience this soreness in both legs. The soreness is normal and expected. If you continue to do the activity, the muscle soreness you experience will lessen each time.
What about localized pain? With this type of pain, you can pinpoint the site of aggravation. It is often intermittent, meaning that it is sharp and intense at times and then absent at others. This type of a pain is usually associated with a non-productive injury. It is often found at or near joints, although you can certainly strain or tear muscles as well. It can be bi- or uni-lateral (i.e. in one knee or both knees). This information can help you determine what is causing the pain.
If you are feeling it in both knees, chances are the aggravating factor could be related to something you are doing equally on both sides of your body. Now, that seems obvious enough, but think of where it leads you. Take a look at your exercise form and your equipment. How old are your shoes? Have you replaced your insoles lately? What kind of a surface are you walking on? Do you have a good heel-to-toe rock, or are you chronically walking on the balls of your feet?
Let's say the pain is only in one ankle. What can this tell you? Unilateral pain is more likely to be a physical injury that needs to recover and not a normal response to exercise. It is often intermittent and increases when you take the injured tissue to its limits. For a weak ankle that has been sprained too many times, lateral movement might give you pain and the feeling that your ankle could give out. The pain might be because your joint and its range of motion have been compromised. You need to give it rest followed by both flexibility and strength therapy. Then you will have to analyze your choices to see if they aggravate or alleviate the problem. For this, you might need the help of your exercise trainer.
Be smart about your aches and pains. Your body is trying to tell you something. Chronic or debilitating pain probably requires professional medical help, but you can aid the healing process by giving your physician or therapist specific information about the intensity, duration and movement that causes your pain. Pain should never be your goal, but it is an indicator. Giving up on exercise is not the answer, but each body has different needs, and pain is a way that your body can express those needs. Don't be afraid to listen.
LENGTH: Medium: 80 linesby CNB