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- $Unique_ID{BRK00242}
- $Pretitle{}
- $Title{Is the Phrase "No Pain, No Gain" a Valid One?}
- $Subject{exercise overuse training pain Musculoskeletal Connective Tissue
- tissues workout exercises aches nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs NSAID
- NSAIDs inflammation inflammatory muscle muscles}
- $Volume{M-23}
- $Log{}
-
- Copyright (c) 1991-92,1993 Tribune Media Services, Inc.
-
-
- Is the Phrase "No Pain, No Gain" a Valid One?
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-
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-
- QUESTION: I know you have heard the phrase "No pain, no gain," applied to
- exercise and muscle development. That's all well and good, except when the
- pain is yours and you would rather get rid of it to allow your life and your
- work to continue. I'm all for training, but what is your advice for me when I
- push it too far, and just start hurting?
-
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-
- ANSWER: It looks like I am too late to use my favorite phrase "Prevention is
- the best medicine". Yet it is time you looked at your program, to see if it
- is too intensive or too long for your body type, your age, or your present
- state of development. Making the necessary modifications may not only help
- now, but prevent recurrences of pain from your problem, which I would classify
- as an overuse syndrome. When you over do, a micro trauma occurs in your
- muscle and tendon tissues. This leads to actual destruction of tissue, and
- results in an inflammatory process which produces pain. There are 4 classes
- of pain, and therefore 4 kinds of advice I might give you. Type 1 pain comes
- on only after activity or exercise, while type 2 is present during activity,
- but doesn't hurt enough to hamper your performance. When you can't perform
- fully because of pain you have type 3, type 4 classification is reserved for
- pain that is chronic and won't go away. For type 1, cut your activity by 25%,
- use ice massage after activity, start a stretching program and physical
- therapy. Cut your workload by 50% for type 2 pain, and in addition to the
- above, you need treatment with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID).
- With type 3 pain, complete rest is mandatory, that means you're out of any
- competition, and your physician will have to consider injections of cortisone
- like medication to reduce the inflammation in addition to NSAIDs. Treatment
- for type 4 pain uses everything above, and if unsuccessful, requires
- consideration of surgery. If your physical activity is an important part of
- your life style, you may well need continuing advice from your physician and
- physical therapy counselor to help you develop a program that will increase
- your fixable tissue as well as strengthen muscles. But first, take my tip,
- and get rid of the pain.
-
- ----------------
-
- The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace
- the counsel and advice of your personal physician. Promptly consulting your
- doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical
- problem.
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-