If you’re dealing with pain and in regards to exercise you don’t know whether to hit the gas or to hit the breaks, think through the traffic signal analogy:
🟢 Green Light: GO
= No pain to minimal pain during the activity
-> Chances are its safe.
🛑 Red Light: STOP
= Activity creates very high levels of pain
-> Use common sense and stop
🟡 Yellow Light: PROCEED WITH CAUTION
= Moderate pain during the activity
-If the activity starts with zero to minimal pain and the pain raises to moderate levels AND the increase of pain returns to baseline within a 24 hours…
-> this is a yellow light
THINGS YOU CAN DO TO MOVE A RED LIGHT TO A YELLOW LIGHT OR A YELLOW LIGHT TO A GREEN LIGHT:
Modify. Modify. Modify.
Here are some variables you can MODIFY to decrease the pain while still getting your movement on:
Range of Motion
Exercise Type
Contraction Type
Body Position
Rest Time
Frequency
Duration
Load
Speed
Movement is medicine.
Rest = Rust.
