The Pain Factor

Last year I told an acquaintance that at the age of 46, I had taken up running. The reply was, "Oh, that's awfully hard on your knees." At first I was taken aback. Yes, I knew if I didn't stretch, warm-up or wear properly fitted shoes, I might experience pain or an injury. But the person telling me this was overweight, had borderline high blood pressure, and never worked out. I wondered if this friend realized by living a sedentary lifestyle, the odds of developing heart disease, osteoporosis, diabetes and some cancers had substantially increased. Not to mention that being overweight actually placed this person at a higher risk than me for developing knee pain from osteoarthritis and heel pain as a result of plantar fasciitis.

I'm no spring chicken and sometimes my running resembles a dawdling old hen. But I do know it's necessary to take precautions at any age to guard against injury when participating in physical activity such as running. Because the truth is, sometimes pain happens. When it does, you can either use pain as an excuse or you can use it as a diagnostic tool to help improve and go forward with your performance.

There are three classifications of pain. In simple terms, these can be described as the following:

Nociceptive Pain: felt after an injury to body tissues such as cuts, sprains, broken bones, bruising, surgery, and sometimes cancer. Most pain is of this type.

Neuropathic Pain: resulting from an injury to nerves, the spinal cord or the brain, examples being Phantom Limb Pain and shingles - which affects nerve tissue.

Psychogenic Pain: is related to a psychological disorder where the type, intensity or proportion of pain experienced is greater than the injury. Some chronic ailments may be related to this type of pain.

Pain can also be defined as acute (an immediate response to an injury) or chronic (a pain lasting more than six weeks). The majority of injuries from physical activity fall into the category of acute nociceptive pain. Although some overuse injuries such as Plantar Fasciitis or Runner's Knee can become chronic if not properly treated or allowed enough time to heal. Most injuries to body tissues are minor and can be treated with nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAID), such as ibuprofen, and ice therapy or R.I.C.E. (rest, ice, compression and elevation) to decrease pain.

Cuts, bruises, strains, sprains, swelling and inflammation can generally be treated in this way. Severe acute injuries, such as fractured bones and ruptured tendons, should always be treated by a medical professional, as is the case with injuries resulting in chronic, neuropathic and psychogenic pain. If you experience minor pain or inflammation during an activity, this is a good time to evaluate what your body is saying and respond in a positive, strengthening manner. Try asking the following questions: