Pain is something everyone deals with on a regular basis, whether the result of an old injury, a chronic joint achy-ness, or the recent muscle soreness you got from pushing yourself during a workout. However, pain is also your body’s warning sign for any potential injuries that could possibly be in your near future. Thus, it is important to not only realize what is causing your pain, but to be able to address and hopefully correct the issue*.
Also, it is important for me as your coach to be able to address, alleviate, and avoid pain, so it is much more helpful to be able to describe your pain before telling me “your shoulder hurts”. (There is a reason that your doctors, Missy, and I start by questioning you about the pain’s history, what have you tried, what makes it worse, what helps it, etc. before suggesting things to do) Therefore, this will be the first in a series on pain, injury, and how to address it for the general CrossFitter.
Baer in the mental version of pain, Kalsu Rx in 27 minutes...
First, we need to define some terms, so you can realize what kind of pain you are experiencing so we can begin to address its causes. Because most types of pain comes from different nerve types, pain will often be distinguished as hot, cold, sharp, or dull:
- Dull: A dull pain is one that is a low-level, often chronic, pain. It can sometimes be difficult to pinpoint the exact source of a dull pain. Often, a dull pain is one that does not demand immediate attention, but you should monitor it to see if it increases or decreases based on your activity level, stress level, nutrition, etc. If the pain worsens or lasts longer than a week, make sure to ask a coach or seek out a professional for help.
- Sharp: A pain is referred to as “sharp” when it has a sudden and intense onset, and is usually your body’s way of getting your attention. This means that a sharp pain will occur very quickly and will be very painful, similar to being stuck with a sharp object. Sharp pains can vary in intensity as well (imagine getting a shot vs. getting poked with a kitchen knife). Often, sharp pains are signs of serious injury and should be addressed immediately. The causes can vary from pulled muscle to broken bones to simply dropping a weight on your foot. However, these types of pain need to be addressed to determine the severity of the issue before continuing with exercise.
- Hot and cold: I think you guys know what hot and cold feels like, so I won’t go through the description of these two.
Please don't drop the kettlebell...
- Tingling, numbness, or shooting: A tingling pain is one that is similar to the “pins-and-needles” feeling when you arm or leg falls asleep. Numbness is the feeling that you no longer have a sense of tough in the affected body part. Shooting is a sharp pain that “shoots” away from its source in a certain direction. Since tingling, numbness, and shooting pain are often caused by nerve problems, these types of pain will often radiate away from their source towards your extremities along the path of the nerve. As these three are indicative of nerve pain, it is important to address their cause before continuing with exercise.
- Throbbing: Throbbing pain is pain that increases and decreases intensity in a rhythmic way. This means that one second, your pain will be moderate, and the next it will be intense, and will alternate between the two with a set pace. Throbbing pain will often be felt to increase and decrease with your pulse. Again, throbbing pain is possibly indicative of serious injury and should be addressed immediately.
Workout of the Day
A. 4x 250m Row
*the first two will be at 75% with a focus on rowing technique, the last two will be at 90% intensity
B. AMRAP 15:
500m Row as a buy-in,
then,
AMRAP of Cindy as possible in remainder of time
Cindy:
5 Pull-Ups
10 Push-Ups
15 Squats
Fundamentals
A. Pull-up technique – 3 Rounds
Max reps, attempt lighter band
Between each round, perform 20 squats
B. Hill Sprints
5 x 200m
Between each heat, 10 push-ups
