Good Pain, Bad Pain

 

Think of exercise like baking a cake. If the recipe says bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, but to move things along you baked the cake at 700 degrees for 15 minutes, the result would be entirely different.

And it would not be good.

The same principle applies to exercise: work out excessively or in the wrong way and you could end up with undesirable results or even injury.

“The goal of exercise is health and happiness,” orthopedic surgeon Edward McFarland, told participants at the recent American College of Sports Medicine Fitness Summit in Atlanta. And healthy, happy exercisers stay this way because they recognize the difference between good and bad pain during exercise, said McFarland, vice chair of adult orthopedics at Johns Hopkins Medicine, collaboration of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Most of us know that regular exercise leads to weight lost, muscle strength, and smaller jeans. But a consistent gym routine can also boost the immune system, stave off stress and reduce secretion of cortisol, a stress hormone that builds fat and can make weight loss difficult.

At the same time, it’s still true that there’s no gain without pain: strenuous physical activity often has uncomfortable aftereffects. DOMS, or delayed onset muscle soreness, sometimes sets in during the post-workout cool-off period. Other times fatigue and soreness aren’t noticeable until as long as 48 hours after exercise. This is perfectly normal.

In contrast, “swelling is a tipoff that the body is not happy,” said McFarland. Swelling, sharp pain or pain that increases as you exercise signs of injury, not DOMS.

“If it’s the pain from working out it should be a dull soreness,” said Bill Pryor, a doctorate student at the University of Georgia pursuing a degree in exercise physiology.

When something hurts, describing it as “dull” or “sharp” pain can be as difficult as explaining the difference between off-white and eggshell paint. But practiced exercisers say the physical sensations are distinct.

Dion Aldridge, a graduate student majoring in sports management had no trouble telling the difference when he injured his shoulder during a routine workout. Sharp pain struck immediately.

“I couldn’t lift it up at all,” he said, “It was non-stop pain.”

The same shoulder had been previously injured during a football game, and he blames himself for hurting it again. He didn’t allow the joint enough time to heal and did not stretch properly before working out.

“A lot of people don’t loosen up their muscles,” said Michelle Tovani, a sophomore nursing student and personal trainer at the Ramsey Center. When muscles are not warmed up they are “tight” and that is when injuries are most likely, said Tovani.

“If you are short on time that’s no excuse: do the warm-up,” she said.