In this post we discuss why the pain came back after rehab, and why it’s not necessarily a set back, but rather valuable feedback.
This is something that happens so frequently that it must be a part of our nature: clients immediately moving into the exercise space created by resistance training.
If done well, resistance training will increase your capacity for the activities you enjoy. If, for example, you could only run 2km without pain, over time, resistance training will enable you to run further.
So what do most people do? They run further. And in some cases, not just a bit further either. They run until they feel pain again.
Cue a frustrated email or emotional conversation about how this isn’t working and their body is beyond repair.
A reoccurrence of the pain in these circumstances is actually a valuable learning moment.
Providing they stopped when this unwanted sensation occurred, it doesn’t represent tissue damage, or a return to square one as many people fear. It’s information, data, feedback.
The increased capacity created by resistance training has been breached not lost entirely.
With a little investigation, some light resistance to restore the function of the muscles that have been overloaded, they’ll be right back to where you were before that rush of blood to the head.
Summary
What this situation demonstrates is the true nature of the problem. It’s not a lack of stretching, infrequent massages, or bad luck. It’s a tissue capacity issue.
Reframing the problem and understanding it for what it actually is, leads to s different approach to exercise. One that not only leads to better results, but removes the anxiety that can persist after injury.
It’s no longer a mystery why this happened in the first place, and you know exactly what to do to prevent it from happening in the future.