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The No Pain, No Gain Principle: Fact or Fiction?
Written by Dr. Daniel Bockmann   
We’ve all heard this expression. But is it true?

The motto “no pain, no gain” was first aired in 1982, when actress Jane Fonda produced a series of workout videos (you know the ones!), in which she used the now-famous phrase along with others, like “feel the burn,” to encourage her fat-burning viewers to work harder during exercise. And it’s still used today. Some personal trainers repeat this mantra to their clients daily, reminding them that there is no meaningful reward without sacrifice.
   
There’s only one problem. Pushing yourself through pain can be dangerous.

Here’s a quick example. A young woman was training for a marathon and progressing nicely. Out of the blue, her hip started hurting when she ran—even during the first few steps. The pain progressively worsened, eventually preventing her from running at all. Her doctor told her that she had a tendonitis in her hip, and said she should be fine after a little stretching, rest, and ice. That didn’t seem to help.

Seeking a second opinion, we performed an exam and x-ray of her hip, and suspected a stress fracture. An MRI confirmed this. Less than two months of rehab later, we had her running again, and her hip was healthy.

Here’s the take-home point: If this young woman had followed the “no pain, no gain” theory and continued to run, she could have developed avascular necrosis of the hip, which could lead to a catastrophic fracture of the hip, and then required her to have total hip replacement surgery. Not a very pleasant experience.

Pain is like a warning signIn fact, joint pain is never normal. Pain is like the red light on your dashboard, telling you when something is going wrong and needs attention. A simple analogy: If your engine was overheating, would you keep on driving? Would stomping on the accelerator solve the problem?

I like to follow and recommend a simple pain rule, called the “Rule of Three.” Adhering to this rule can help you avoid injury during exercise or everyday life. Here’s how it works:

The Rule of 3

During any activity, rate your pain on a scale of 0 – 10, where zero is no pain, and ten is the worst pain you’ve ever experienced in your life. As long as you keep your pain rating at three or lower, you’re almost always safe. If your pain reaches the level of four out of ten, or higher, either modify the activity to bring it down to a three, or simply stop the activity. (NOTE: This rule also applies to “exercise discomfort” – the burning feeling in muscles from straining during exercise.)

If you find yourself having to modify or eliminate activities on a regular basis, it’s time for you to meet with a qualified health professional. Pain that occurs routinely, or pain that becomes more frequent or severe, is a sign that some underlying problem needs to be corrected. And with many conditions, the sooner you get the proper treatment, the easier it is to correct.

So let’s change the old saying, “no pain, no gain” to a new one. It’s safer, it’s more comfortable, and it’s an easier motto to live by: “No pain, no pain!”

Listen to your body—it knows what you need!


Daniel Bockmann, DC, practices sports medicine and chiropractic in the Austin area, and can be contacted at austinspineandsport.com.