In this blog, I’m going to discuss training around pain and why adapting your workouts can help solve your issue. This blog is for education purposes only.

Introduction

When pain shows up, the natural reaction is often STOP or REST! We have all been there before when we associate pain with damage, and this turns into thinking we are going to make things worse.

“I have hurt myself, so I need to stop doing everything.”

But completely stopping exercise is not always the answer. In most cases, training around pain can actually be part of the solution.

Pain Does Not Equal Damage

Pain does not automatically mean you have caused damage – it is a signal from your brain to change. Think of this like touching a hot pan – pain signals for you to quickly move your hand/change to prevent further damage, not keep it there.

Pain, which is a subjective phenomenon, can be influenced by your training load, stress levels, sleep, previous injuries, movement sensitivity and many other factors.

So, let’s change the narrative and thought process of:

“I cannot do that because it is painful”

Instead, change it to:

“I can do this, but will have to do it a different to reduce my pain…”

Modify Instead of Stopping All Together

This can be done by reducing the weight, performing fewer repetitions or sets, changing your range of movement, slowing the exercise down (tempo), choosing a different variation, or reducing training frequency.

For example, if squatting causes knee pain, you may not need to stop squatting or training your legs. You may just need to reduce the load, adjust your depth, slow the movement down or temporarily choose another variation of the exercise.

This way you are still exercising and training, but you are simply changing the dose.

Think of Exercise Like a Dose of Medicine

Exercise is often as part of the rehabilitation process because it provides a stimulus that your body and injured tissues can adapt to.

Too little stimulus and you may not create enough adaptation. On the other hand, too much, too quickly, and symptoms may flare up. Therefore, the sweet spot is finding the appropriate level of loading for where you are right now, and that level can change over time.

Something that hurts today may become completely comfortable after several weeks of progressive loading, which is why rehabilitation should not always be about finding the one exercise that does not hurt.

Sometimes it is about gradually increasing your tolerance to the exercise that currently does.

The Goal Is Also NOT to Train Through Pain

There is an important distinction between training around pain and simply pushing through pain. There is a difference. Completely ignoring the pain and pushing through it will not help.

Training around pain means being strategic. It means understanding your symptoms, and modifying your training and progressively increasing your capacity. It does not mean ignoring severe or worsening pain.

Why Movement Matters Rather Than Rest

Completely avoiding movement can lead to reduced strength, reduced tissue capacity and reduced confidence. Instead, after finding your tolerable entry point to loading (exercise can you can tolerate), gradually expose the painful tissues to movement can help rebuild its tolerance.

Rather than complete rest or stopping all together, think instead:

Pain  →  Modify  →  Move  →  Build Capacity  →  Progress

The goal is not to ignore pain or simply push through it. It is about finding an appropriate level of exercise and gradually increasing what your body can handle – this is how we treat your problem – training around pain.

Conclusion

Pain does NOT equal damage, instead it means you need to change the way you are doing something.

Your current exercise routine/gym workouts do not need to end because you have pain. With the right modifications, your gym sessions can become an important part of your rehabilitation and effectively treat your problem.

The exercise that hurts today may become the exercise that makes you stronger tomorrow. Do not stop moving, modify things, the Rehabify way.