Athletic intelligence & Pain - What to do?

You've trained.

You've trained well, regularly and consistently. 

Hard at times, and trained smarter more often.

You've listened to your body. You've heard what it's had to say. 

Intelligently, you've worked your way through some changes, a few days off here-and-there, and some shorter and slower sessions, massage, mobility and strength training designed specifically for you.

Yet some persists. You're a little stiffer each morning, and you're taking longer to warm up?

What do you do?

Doing something is key. Exactly what you do really depends upon what you hear. Your athletic intelligence, experience, diligence and pride will impact to.

Your coach and/or health-professional should be your best (first) guides. See them.

 Signs and symptoms associated with acute, unusual and sudden pain and/or your health must be heeded. Stop what you’re doing, and seek guidance from your coach, an experienced and trusted athlete, and see your or health-care professional.

Reduce your overall training load, and intensity for a few days or take some days off for minor changes to your fatigue or energy levels, a cold (above the shoulders), persistent muscles soreness and stiffness. Get some more sleep and eat well. Consider the impact of other loads/stressors too as your body’s ability to adapt to training is dependent upon more than just your training.

Pain, stiffness and swelling that persist or are having a greater impact first thing in the morning, during warm-up or after you cool-down must be heard. These are often debilitating injuries waiting to happen, and could manifest into weeks or months off training, or surgery.

Your true limits:

Remember, successful training is about maximizing your adaptations so that you can perform at higher levels.  It’s not about maximizing training numbers.

Forcing your body at times is a part of hard-training. Smart training, and intelligent athletes don’t try and force more than they can handle. Poor results, fatigue and pain should not be cues to train harder.

Ignoring your body’s signs and symptoms and aimlessly pushing on under the guise of ‘mental toughness’, to rack-up-the-numbers or forge a new training-streak, can cause small, easily remedied problems to become debilitating. Obsession and smarts aren’t the same thing

True, the occasional minor injury is associated with pushing yourself and challenging your limits. Pete Ffitzinger once said, ‘learning to listen to your body and having the confidence and trust in yourself doesn’t imply a lack of toughness, but a willingness to find your true physical limits…injuries aren’t a badge of honor’.

It is rare that you don't hear 'anything'. No news is often good news, and silence often says much.

That said, “avoidance is rarely a path to success”. Avoiding training gets you nowhere, avoiding pain gets you less-where!

Athletic Intelligence & Pain - when to listen...

Athletic intelligence is about changing , altering or adapting what you do to the context of training and/or competition. Pain is one thing that you either need to manage, or it will end up managing you - particularly in relation to training, and getting better.

Once you've sorted out that pain is different to the Self-imposed Discomfort of training and racing (hard) and what to listen for, you need to know when to listen...

There are three general times to listen to your body.

Most importantly, listen when your body tells you something (new). It will send you signs, and you’ll experience them as symptoms. Be vigilant with anything that is sudden, acute or unusual that has a significant impact on your ability to move normally. 

Secondly, listen for *change in relation to warming up for a session, once you’ve cooled down, and upon getting out of bed:

• a change (increase) in how long it takes to warm-up 
• a change (increase in tenderness, stiffness, redness) once you’ve cooled-down (2-4 hours post session) 
• change (increase) in stiffness or soreness first thing in the morning – usually tendon, bursa or joint related 
• a change (increase) in redness, swelling, temperature on or near a sensitive spot
• a change in your/athlete’s manner, mood, technique and/or form, and body language (eg. stooping, facial expression, a limp, extra stretching, extra resting)
• a change in confidence in approaching particular types of training ,and racing

In my experience, these changes are usually indicative of pending injury and are warning signs of failure of an athlete’s body to adapt (maladaptation) to their 'load'. It can also indicate that an aspect of their training has been changed too quickly:

• sudden increase in volume, particularly running
• sudden increase in speed/intensity
• disproportionate increase in volume of intense training without a concomitant reduction in overall volume
• altered mechanics or technique due to posture, fatigue and imbalance
• sudden significant change in the volume or duration and/or speed/intensity to a 'new' surface (grass, athletics track, asphalt and concrete, sand) or terrain (especially steep hills)
• footwear, particularly the 'type' and make; and, the introduction of orthoses
• for triathletes and multi-sporters: significant changes in use of swimming toys (eg. paddles), cycling position or set-up, and running surface, terrain and footwear

The third deals with when training or during the main part of your training sessions – ‘training (and racing) by feel, or perceived exertion’ – and isn’t a focus here, at the moment.

Of course, knowing what to listen for and when are key pieces of this aspect of Athletic Intelligence. Another key piece, is deciding what to do...

Athletic Intelligence & Pain - What to listen for...

Athletic intelligence is about changing , altering or adapting what you do to the context of training and/or competition. Pain is one thing that you either need to manage, or it will end up managing you - particularly in relation to training, and getting better.

Remember not to confuse true pain with Self Imposed Discomfort (SID). Simply knowing 'to listen' doesn't necessarily help. It's good to know what to listen for.

Here are my four key areas for you to listen for:

1) acute, unusual and sudden pain:
· pressure, stabbing or ‘fullness’ pain in the chest, that may radiate into your arms, neck, jaw and face
· sudden lightheadedness, dizziness, headache or vertigo that doesn’t pass quickly
· unusual shortness of breath - without a cough – when resting, or between intervals
· a stab, shot or sudden-searing pain in a muscle or tendon that makes you suddenly change your action, technique or gait; slows you down or makes you limp or stop
· that radiates from your back or neck and down your leg/arm  

2) health:
· a prolonged low-grade fever or a fever that comes-and-goes; or, an ‘overnight’ high fever
· a fever associated with neck stiffness, chills, wet cough, profuse sweating, headaches
· a persistent cough not associated with a cold or flu
· coughing up blood, or green, yellow or reddish-brown mucus
· persistent abnormal or irregular bowel movements and urine not associated with diet related changes

3) fatigue:
Fatigue and temporary muscle weakness are normal when training regularly and performing some hard training, yet heed fatigue…

· not relieved by a few lighter days (50% volume, low intensity), or days off
· that persists over several weeks, and isn’t changed by improved sleep and diet
· associated with significant appetite change with weight gain/loss, energy and mood swings, and loss of motivation to train
· coupled with other symptoms: unusual pulse, shortness of breath, dizziness, fainting, fever, significant muscle weakness
· significantly higher perceived effort or heart-rate at rest or during low intensity efforts
· inability to regularly complete or recover ‘normally’ from moderate or higher intensity sessions
· a persistent loss of technique, concentration and strength/power

4) musculoskeletal:
Some delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), and muscle and joint stiffness is normal when increasing or changing the nature of your training load, particularly after a ‘rest’ phase. Yet, be attentive to…

· sudden or acute muscle, tendon or joint pain that gets worse (likely a strain or sprain that will require R.I.C.E.R. and/or medical assessment)
· new or persistent pain, tenderness or swelling around joints, tendons and bones, and shooting nerve pain
· early morning and/or warm-up stiffness that becomes more persistent or painful
· asymmetrical pain – pain in one joint, or muscle group, on one side

Are these what you listen for (in relation to pain)?

Knowing when to listen is a key too...