you cannot heal if you’re in pain

I told a patient that you cannot heal if you are in pain.

I know a lot of people will disagree right off the bat, but hear me out. Pain is generally our body telling us that something is wrong and needs attention. Or, we need to slow down, or we need to get up and move, or we need to nourish ourselves. But the crux is, pain is a beacon telling us something isn’t right.

I have a lot of patients who subscribe to the notion of no pain, no gain. And this is where I think so many of us get it wrong. Growing is uncomfortable. Pushing boundaries is uncomfortable. That is not the same thing as pain. The discomfort that comes from walking 10 minutes instead of 5 or getting a new PR on the bench press, or adding an additional mile to a bike or run session is not the same thing as pulling a muscle, or breaking a bone, or birthing a child, or twisting your ankle. They’re not the same. And yet, we refer to it all as pain.

So, don’t hear what I’m not saying. I’m not saying that pushing ourselves is bad. I’m not saying that we should not strive to grow and challenge our bodies and minds. I am saying that expecting to push through PAIN and continue the healing process is not going to happen.

Pain requires rest, it requires change, it requires nourishment. Pain requires us to get real honest with ourselves and stop and assess what we’re doing and if it’s actually beneficial. Discomfort is how we grow.  Pain is how we know we pushed too far.

The reason I told my patient that they could not heal when they were in pain is that they refused to stop. They were trying to outrun their diagnosis. And I really understand that urge. But in pushing through the pain to keep active and busy, they were putting themselves further back rather than aiding their healing. This line between doing enough and doing too much can be a very thin line at times.

That line is why I always caution my patients that it may take a while for them to see sustainable results. We have to do enough in a treatment without overdoing it. And, they have to be real honest with themselves about what they’re doing between treatments that may be harming more than helping.

How do I define rest? I typically define it as something that doesn’t get your heart rate up too high and that fills your cup. For some people that’s a gentle activity like knitting, or going on a short walk, or taking a shower (that can be a whole lot of work for another person though). For some people it’s sitting and reading, for some it’s taking a short nap or grabbing the chance to lay down flat for 15 minutes. Basically it’s any activity that allows your body to breathe out longer than you breathe in and doesn’t get your heart-rate too high. 

Sometimes rest is really uncomfortable. Sometimes it can feel like laziness and we can pile on the guilt that we aren’t doing enough. But, it turns out, you don’t need to earn rest. In fact, your body requires it to heal. So, the next time you feel yourself wanting to push through the pain, start by asking if it’s actual pain or if it’s just discomfort. Don’t lie to yourself. Then ask yourself if you need to just take 10 minutes and rest. We aren’t going to change these habits overnight, but by simply realizing that we aren’t healing when we push through pain, we can start to recognize what’s benefiting us and what’s holding us back.