How many of you have either heard, said and/or live by the phrase: “No Pain. No Gain.” I’m here to make sure you’re well aware this isn’t always the best way to go about life. You have to think of your body like an alarm system and when it feels pain, something is wrong. Now this being said, just like an alarm system at your home, it can at times “go off” when it shouldn’t. Examples would be if you were afraid, stressed, anxious, haven’t been eating “right”, are tired and/or several other factors. So how do we know when we should stop? Here are 3 times you should reconsider pushing through the pain.
- Sharp Pain-This acute pain may mean there’s a tear, strain or sprain. These pains normally “hit” you quickly and can even take your breath away. You may even notice swelling, redness and/or the area turning black and blue. If you experience a sharp pain, STOP! Let someone know and go from there.
- Numbness, tingling and/or blacking out. If you experience any of these (especially blacking out) STOP and let someone know. If you black out, you definitely want to go in and get it checked out.
- Increased Pain. If you think you felt something and your not sure or you have a high threshold for pain, but the pain increases, STOP. I know several people will say “it doesn’t hurt that much”, however it estimated about 40% of people with low back pain have it worse than they think it is.
In closing, you must know your body and not be afraid to STOP when something doesn’t feel right. We all have just one body, so take care of yours.