10 Things I Wish I Knew About Pain When I Was Injured

I've been coaching people through pain and helping them get stronger for almost 10 years now. The reason I got into the field is that I had a terrible back injury that dogged me for years without proper relief.

Here's what I wish I had known about pain and injury that would've saved me years of grief, frustration, and worry.

1. All injury comes down to a lack of tolerance. If you're getting hurt often, it's because you're doing too much for your capabilities, so know when to push and when to back off.

   
   

2. There's no such thing as a bad movement or exercise - just ones you aren't prepared for. Your movement technique follows the same mantra.

   
   

3. How you think about your pain influences your experience more than you think. Your mindset affects your behaviours, which affect your outcomes. *You're not fragile.

   
   

4. Rehab is just strength training in the presence of injury.

   
   

5. Chiropractic treatment, massages, cupping, dry needling, etc, are bandaids at best and don't do much in the long term.

   
   

6. Finding ways to continue to move through pain is the single most important factor in determining how well you will recover.

   
   

7. You can't truly prevent all injuries, but the more you build your strength and mobility, the more you will mitigate your risk.

   
   

8. The mental benefits of training and the trust it builds in your body to handle resilience are arguably more valuable than the physical strength it builds.

   
   

9. There is rarely a single cause to your pain, and you need to look at factors beyond what's structurally going on.

   
   

10. In recovering from pain, there are always ups and downs, but sticking to the plan gives you the best chance of success.

    
    

Which of these lessons are surprising to you? Which do you find the most helpful?

To your good health,

Coach Stephen

Thanks for reading.

P.S.

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