Athletes Must Heed Pain's Warning Signs - Or Else

Personal health

December 12, 1989|By Dr. Ronald B. Mackenzie, Health & Fitness News Service

Pain. All of us shun it, but in fact pain is a good thing, especially for exercisers and athletes. It's a warning sign: Your next move could have far-reaching consequences.

Pain can tell you a lot about the type and degree of an injury. Loss of function sends an even stronger message.

For instance, a sore arm the day after a baseball game just lets you know that you've pushed your muscles further than they're used to going. Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is a normal part of strenuous exercise. But if your arm is sore and you can't pick anything up, your injury is more serious and calls for medical attention.

Learning to listen to your body is an important part of staying fit and active. Your best rule of thumb is, if it hurts, don't use it. But understanding what pain is telling you can help you decide what to do about it.

Most injuries that heal without medical intervention call for the simple prescription of RICE - rest, ice, compression and elevation. After immediate first aid, rest is the key to healing and preventing re-injury.

Some injuries, especially traumas like broken bones, are obvious. Pain and loss of function are extreme and immediate.

More often, though, you become aware of a sports injury over time. Overuse injuries, such as tendinitis or stress fractures, can sneak up on you. But if you recognize pain and act accordingly, you can avoid causing further damage.

A checklist of questions can help you make good judgments:

- Did the pain begin immediately after exercise, or develop gradually over hours or even days?

- Did it come on suddenly, and was it accompanied by a pop, snap or a feeling of being hit by a high-speed object like a tennis ball, even though you weren't? If so, the pain signals a serious sprain, tendon tear or other injury that needs medical attention. A great deal of bruising and discoloration can mean tissue damage and internal bleeding. Severe and constant pain merits a professional diagnosis.

Mild intermittent pain may be a symptom of less serious strains or sprains. Strains are caused by stretching or tearing muscles or tendons, and can range from slight to severe. Tenderness to the touch usually indicates a strain.

Sprains involve ligaments, the fibrous tissue that attaches bone to bone. One-third of all sports injuries are sprains. Unless you lose function, you can treat mild strains and sprains yourself with RICE. If the pain lasts longer than a day or two, see a doctor.

Exercise-related pain that develops gradually over a period of time is often a symptom of overuse. These injuries occur from repetitive stress, and the pain may be point-specific, as in a stress fracture, or cover a larger area, as with shin splints.

When pain is point-specific and gets worse over time, you should see a doctor. When you feel the pain over a joint, it may be a symptom of bursitis, the inflammation of a joint's padding.

Pain at a point in the middle of a bone may signal a stress fracture - tiny cracks in a bone that can come from bending it too frequently. The rate of bone breakdown from activity, a normal process, is greater than the rate of bone formation, or repair. The pain of a stress fracture that's restricted to a specific area may be relieved by rest.

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