When you partake in physical activity, you expect a certain level of discomfort. But when it comes to competitive sport, the idea of being in pain seems to be one of those things we accept – its not a case of if it’s going to hurt… more like how much!
Pain seems simple: Sustain an injury—like a knee or lower back sprain—and signals are sent to the brain, which processes them and sends commands to avoid the source of pain (taking weight off the affected body part, for instance). But there’s more to it than that. After all, pain can be sharp or dull, short-term or chronic, even “good” or “bad.” And almost all of it can get between your fitness goals.
What is Pain? Athletes need to know about three specific types of pain, which each have different causes.
Type 1: Immediate. Occurs when pain fibers in the skin called nociceptors sense irritation—a burn, prick, or cut, for example. Those fibers send messages to the brain; the pain is resolved when you remove the offending agent.
Type 2: Acute. Occurs when tissue is damaged or inflamed. Symptoms include redness, swelling, heat, tenderness, and altered function. Traditionally, it’s treated with the RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) method and anti-inflammatories.
Type 3: Chronic. Most commonly caused by muscle, joint, and nervous system imbalances, but it can also be due to autoimmune or psychological issues. Trainers can help their clients correct imbalances, helping some types of chronic pain and improving performance.
What’s most common in rowing?
Chronic pain can be hard to pin down. Most sports physios have now taken the approach of recommending examining the body as an interconnected whole, looking for movement impairments that could impact other body parts.
One of the best ways to identify those impairments is the pause drill, most specifically the catch hold pause drill where the athlete will pause for 5 secs in the catch position before reinitiating the sequence. With it, coaches can spot deviations from ideal movement from the initial point of contact with erg.
What this drill allows coaches see what is underactive and overactive muscles, abnormal force-couple relationships, and dysfunctional joint mechanics. What you see during the assessment can help you design a corrective process that involves inhibiting overactive muscles and lengthening underactive muscles, activating underactive muscles through intramuscular isolation exercises and retraining proper movement through full-body dynamic intermuscular exercises.
Good vs. Bad Pain—and Where Trainers Fit In
Most rowers, particularly habitual exercisers, can tell if there’s something going on beyond normal muscle soreness or pain. That’s why as coaches we strongly recommend talking with clients about how they’re feeling so you can gauge how to structure the workout. This includes asking if they have any pain or new injuries. If the answer is yes, try to get to the source of any medical conditions or a recent trauma—of the pain. And here’s the big note: diagnosing and addressing pain is beyond a coach’s scope of practice, but it’s a coach’s responsibility to learn a client’s history and recommend he/she either see a health-care provider, take the day off, or simply adjust the splits for the workout.
The honest truth is when it comes to pain, the biggest take away is how is it going to affect you both short and long term. Can you miss the long steady row session so you can hit the planned shorter higher intensity session the following day? How about working on that mobility for 10 mins post workout rather than sitting and chatting with the group? Being a Dark Horse means taking the pressure off and being accountable for your management of pain.
Yours in fitness, education and managing pain.
Coach John
Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash
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I’m a beginner love your videas