Should you exercise through chronic pain?
I’ve known many people who have gone too far and made their situations much worse by bulling their way through an exercise routine. But you must be careful how hard you push yourself if you should push yourself at all. Everyone has a breaking point, and you don’t want to reach yours by being bullheaded. However, we can’t make excuses not to work out. A high level of fitness must be your goal.
My issue is arthritis that causes pain in my toe joints. Whenever I’m doing anything that causes me to bend my toes, especially lunging, it can get a little scary. That said, sometimes, I must make modifications to a lunging exercise to get through it. Regardless of your physical issues, the key to exercising through chronic pain is to be open to modifications when you can’t perform the textbook version of an exercise.
Unfortunately, the average person won’t look for an alternative when confronted with any type of chronic pain, but movement is oftentimes the best therapy.
About eight years ago, I went to the doctor with swelling behind my left knee that bothered me for months. He did an MRI and other tests yet found nothing wrong with me and told me to rest. That wasn’t an option because I’m always exercising with clients. Then one day, I decided to work my hamstrings by doing hamstring curls. This is something I initially decided not to do because it might make my situation worse. However, miraculously the pain was knocked out within three days of doing the hamstring curls. But, it wasn’t really a miracle. I simply found the right exercise for my situation. That said, if you’re in any type of pain, it may be as simple as identifying the right exercise, which your physical therapist or personal trainer may help you with.
Therefore, don’t just give up when there’s pain in your body.
Be flexible with your routine and adaptable to your situation. You must get your exercise in. Supreme fitness can be your destiny when you approach it the right way.
