Short Summary: Good Pain Vs. Bad Pain

Good Pain vs. Bad Pain: How not to let pain affect your physical performance

The following article is written by Dr. Gerd Mueller MD, Founder and Director, AktivOrtho™

Imagine a man trying to pick his partner up in his arms only to be struck by a sharp pain in the back – not the prettiest or most romantic of pictures. There are all sorts of pain affecting the body today, and managing them is a pain in the neck – and back, and arm, and leg. A question thus arises; are all pains bad? The answer to that is a big, BIG no. The ache that young children feel while their bones grow? Good. Pain felt as a fracture mends? Good again. Dull, throbbing pain felt after hitting the gym? Very good. But how does one differentiate between good and bad pain?

If the pain is good, it usually takes care of itself over time or with successive sessions. A bit of rest may help in such cases, as could simple stretching exercises. Pain medication may also be utilised to manage pain as the body builds up in strength. Too much of rest will weaken the body and is hardly ever prescribed. Bad pain management requires detailed diagnosis with the doctor and physiotherapist working in tandem towards improved healing. Now let’s look at it with an example, the joint that is most often affected by a wrong or not optimal training, is the shoulder. As the stability of both, the shoulder joint itself and the shoulder girdle is mostly determined by the muscles and their intramuscular coordination. Too fast a rampup in the training can manifest in a muscular imbalance which can further be followed by impingement syndromes like pain under the shoulder roof, or a tendinitis. A sports medicine expert or a sports therapist should assess the shoulder through a good ultrasound or MRI. Subsequently, in most cases, rather than resting the shoulder, resolving the imbalance of the muscles is the most promising help. Furthermore, treating the shoulder properly is very important. Properly here implies to do the right exercises with the right intensity and the right execution, i.e. the quality of the 15th repetition should be as good as the first

Strength building and pain alleviating techniques such as manual mobilisation therapy, myofascial release therapy and medicinal training therapy may then be used for restoring the normal body function.

There is no real way of avoiding good pain. However, bad pain can be best managed through prevention. Human bodies had evolved for the purpose of perpetual movement, not sitting in chairs glued to the computer screens for hours on end. Most musculoskeletal pains faced by the body are usually caused due to muscular imbalance and loss of muscle strength due to a sedentary lifestyle. As such, keeping muscles and body fit and active is the best way of preventing bad pains. Regular exercising develops the muscle strength and improves the mobility of joints and tendons.

However, one must be careful not to overdo it. The intensity of exercising should only be increased gradually to allow the body the time to adjust to the increased load. This helps to avoid many muscle pain related issues such as sprains and tears that are caused due to overzealous individuals pushing their bodies too hard. Working individuals must also get their ergonomic and postural situation assessed to reduce their risk factor of developing chronic pain