Should You Push through Pain during Exercise?

Sports medicine is a unique subset of healthcare focused on helping athletes optimize and maintain their performance. When an athlete is injured, a sports medicine specialist uses a wide range of therapeutic approaches to relieve pain and restore function.

Dr. Philip Regala is an orthopaedic and sports medicine specialist whose offices are located in Naples, Florida. His expertise can help athletes properly condition and recondition their bodies for competitive performance without pain. According to the experts at Johns Hopkins, when it comes to working out, there’s “good pain” and “bad pain.”

Good pain

When you work out safely and vigorously, your muscles may burn and ache a little. This is good pain: your body is breaking down tissue microscopically, and rebuilding it stronger than ever. 

You can also have delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), which comes on a few days after a hard workout and can cause stiffness, aches, and cramping. This is another natural reaction.

Good pain means your muscles are getting strong and stronger. The pain goes away within a week, and never gets so bad that you can’t function at all.

Bad pain

If you’ve suffered a real injury, pain won’t feel so much like a burn or an ache. An injury to a tendon, ligament, muscle, or joint is often more acute and stabbing in nature. This is a signal your brain sends to tell you to stop and care for yourself.

If you have strong, sharp, stabbing pain that starts during a workout and is resistant to R.I.C.E. (rest, ice, compression, elevation), then you may have seriously injured yourself. Getting back to your workout right away could cause lasting damage. 

Bad pain means stop what you’re doing and perform some serious self-care. If your pain doesn’t go away, call for an appointment with Dr. Regala. 

Regenerative pain treatment

An injury can bench you as an athlete, and require extensive physical therapy and a long recovery period before you’re fit to play again. Dr. Regala seeks out holistic ways to help speed the healing process. 

A popular treatment for sports injuries and pain is platelet-rich plasma (PRP). Dr. Regala draws a small amount of your blood, spins it in a centrifuge to concentrate the platelets in your plasma, and reinjects this prepared PRP into the site of your injury or pain. The growth factors in the PRP can help speed the healing process and reduce pain and inflammation. 

To learn more about sports medicine and safe, healthy workout habits, contact our office at 239-325-1131, or book an appointment online.