How many aches and pains do you ignore in order to work out?

Sued0nim

I seem to be lurching from one isolated niggle to the next. Bilateral elbow tendonitis resolved to single elbow needing support

But now my ankle is on day 2 of a dull ache and is a little swollen and tender, but I want to go to gym more than it hurts (no specific injury but clearly something is amiss)

Where do you draw the line? How do you know that you need to rest rather than train?

Gianfranco_R

At our age, we should simply avoid to train through pain (not yet resolved shoulder injury speaking here).

TavistockToad

i wouldn't train on an ankle like you've described.

Sued0nim

Yeah, getting older sucks ..but I really feel if I didn't ignore some of them I would never work out...the issue is cos of the elbow I can't do much upper body and if my ankle is going I can't do lower ..I took an Pilates class yesterday and adapted ...maybe I'll do another of those

I would never ever, in a million years, have thought that I would end up as the kind of person who would feel narked at the thought of not being able to hit the gym

sijomial

I've got quite a few joint injuries from 10 years motorcycle racing (badly!), being used as a speed bump by a couple of cars and a congenital "bad back" (multitude of prolapsed discs)....

If I didn't train through aches (and sometimes pain) then I wouldn't train much as all. Luckily I have a high pain threshold (pain tolerance probably more accurate). I know my old injuries very well so know the signs/symptoms, fresh injuries are different and I will be more cautious.

I know my neck and back will hurt when I cycle a long way.
In winter I know my Raynaud's affected fingers and toes will go numb and then be very painful when they warm up.
Old knee injuries (lost a PCL and a cartilage) will react to heavy training and long distance cycling.
Elbow tendons tend to hurt most of the time when training, an old shoulder tendon injury aches at high weights.

My personal limit is "damage" rather than pain. I can tolerate pain but when I feel it's indicating actual damage that's when it's time for me to ease off and rest/recover. I wouldn't necessarily recommend this approach for others by the way!

Ankle swelling is a pretty good indication of damage irrespective of pain level.

Sued0nim

I've got a decent pain threshold and can work through quite a lot which is why I worry a bit more about ignoring stuff...I haven't quite got a grip on what's damage as opposed to get over yourself I suppose

tiny_clanger

This morning I really should have listened to my body and not run to work - everything hurts. Nothing specific, just dull aching, feeling shivery, runny nose, sneezing. Generally my body telling me I'm coming down with the sickness and should ease off rather than pushing faster.

Also it was my slowest 5K ever, reduced to walking A LOT! You know that horrible feeling when you just lurch from running to walking without consciously deciding to slow down, it's just like your body refuses.

So anyway, the upshot of my pity party is to say have a couple of rest days, go back to the gymn next Monday and I'll bet you'll be on tip top form.

sijomial

Sued0nim wrote: »

I've got a decent pain threshold and can work through quite a lot which is why I worry a bit more about ignoring stuff...I haven't quite got a grip on what's damage as opposed to get over yourself I suppose

For me that's mostly "signs" such as heat/swelling/knee creaking like an old wooden ship in a heavy sea....

Symptoms depend on severity and type - loss of function such as nerve impingement obviously means stop, ditto disabling prolonged level of pain such as major disc prolapse or ligament rupture.
Temporary high pain such as when treating injuries and a bit of self-surgery(!) is OK as it comes and goes.

Lofteren

I train around injuries eather than training through them. If my ankle was swollen and achy I would take the opportunity to work on bench and pullups for a few days.

gillie80

it depends on the pain. i've got shin splints just now so i try not to run through them or do heavy cardio, i'll do more damage in the long run. i'll exercise through cramps or a headache. anything not leg related i can ignore as i run mostly with a bit of clubbercise on the side.

Sued0nim

Lofteren wrote: »

I train around injuries eather than training through them. If my ankle was swollen and achy I would take the opportunity to work on bench and pullups for a few days.

Yeah ..but my tendonitis discounts that option to any great extreme unfortunately

divcara

I have found in general, if someone on one "side" hurts, it's good to give it a break and rest. If you're equally sore on both sides from a workout, it's probably just general soreness and you're okay to work through it. But when one side is off, usually something is going on and it's better to back off, as difficult as that it is. You don't want to make it worse and then be out of commission longer. Also, when someone is off on one side, we tend to start compensating and putting more support on other areas or unequally and then the risk for other injuries goes way up. It's not worth messing with.

Wheelhouse15

I've had tons in the last couple years but just keep going and they resolve eventually. Still dealing with a shoulder injury that was actually healed until I did my last Spartan and tore it up again. What I remember off hand I've had:

- Strained pec
- rotator cuff injury
- delt strain
- pulled teres major
- golfer's elbow
- bursitis in both hips
- inflamed biceps tendon
- wrist strain

I'm sure I'm missing a few but only the rotator cuff is still an issue.

Wheelhouse15

Gianfranco_R wrote: »

At our age, we should simply avoid to train through pain (not yet resolved shoulder injury speaking here).

Good luck on the shoulder injury, I feel your pain on that!

lord_nick

Hi there, it's so frustrating when you can't work out. I find it difficult to distinguish between where an ache becomes a pain that needs resting. It's definitely good advice to rest for a few days rather than potentially train on it and put yourself out for a lot longer.

If it's swollen though, definitely sounds like it needs resting. Saying that, I find it difficult to sit still for five minutes so I totally empathise with how you're feeling.

When I hurt my ankle before I just did some training on the bike and knocked the running on the head for a wile; seemed to work for me.

How's the ankle now?

ew_david

I ignored signs for over a year and continued training through aches and pain. In doing that, I went from pain here and there to daily pain. I finally went to my prescribed physical therapy and am better, but I essentially lost this entire year of training because I didn't listen to my body.

McCloud33

All of them In all seriousness though, if it's a dull pain I usually train through it, if it's sharp, no go. I probably don't give myself enough time to recover all in all though. I have tendonitis in one elbow that I tried giving a few weeks to heal, but I wasn't going to not train upper body for months on end and come back just to still have an issue, so I just push through that usually.

Chieflrg

I have a joint disease that attacks my tendons as well.

My hands, hips, knees, elbows are swollen 24/7 and in pain. It's just a balancing act while lifting heavy and using alternative lifts when tendons are joints are flaring badly enough to stop progress.

canadianlbs

Sued0nim wrote: »

I've got a decent pain threshold and can work through quite a lot which is why I worry a bit more about ignoring stuff...I haven't quite got a grip on what's damage as opposed to get over yourself I suppose

i was just thinking about this yesterday. about how ironic it is that i do miles more mobility work, more stretching, more coddling and maintenance and damage control as a lifter than i ever did when i just sat on my bum all day long . . . i'm practically my own physiotherapist after two years. and i need every second of it. i'm happier and healthier and really love lifting, but if you just went by day-to-day physical well-being, i'm not objectively in 'better shape' than i was previously. or at least, i rarely stop lifting for long enough to fully enjoy the better shape i'm supposedly in

to your actual question though: agh. i think almost everything my body's thrown me has been something that hangs around and gets worse if i leave it alone. i think i sort of operate with this understanding that yes, it is probably going to get worse, and i'll let it do that - up to but no further than some point called 'enough is enough'. along the way i'll usually assume i'm causing it myself with some form failure, so that's what the leeway is for. there have been a couple of things that i've resolved on my own by adjusting my form around them, but i'm still very much learning how to do that and it's very case-by-case too how successful i am.

cwolfman13

Sued0nim wrote: »

I seem to be lurching from one isolated niggle to the next. Bilateral elbow tendonitis resolved to single elbow needing support

But now my ankle is on day 2 of a dull ache and is a little swollen and tender, but I want to go to gym more than it hurts (no specific injury but clearly something is amiss)

Where do you draw the line? How do you know that you need to rest rather than train?

I'm working through some posterior tibial tendinitis at the moment...I just forgo things like squats and dead lifts and my Olympic lifting and do other things. I can usually still cycle with it. As I've gotten older I've found that I have to have a lot more flexibility in my training.

sllm1

I train through as long as it doesn't hurt while I'm actually working out. Most of my aches and pains resolve themselves with a good warm-up. Swelling, though - well, I would rethink training through that. Maybe you could do something that doesn't involve heavy work on your ankle. For example, rowing instead of running or an upper body workout?