Understanding Flare Ups
Many people have heard the term "flare up" and many people also know what these painful symptoms feel like.
What is a flare up?
A flare up is a temporary feeling of increased pain
Key word is temporary. One of the biggest mistakes I see is a trainer or therapist working with a client make is completely changing the workout routine if they experience these flare ups.
When I explain it to clients like this it makes more sense;
Most of the time when people feel pain is because they completely stopped moving and using certain muscles and they get very tight and weak, or they do not use them correctly.
So if you are an adult dealing with pain because it's been years since you've exercised, starting a new workout routine wakes muscles up that have been shut off for a long time. When these muscles finally become engaged this can cause an initial flare up. This might feel like a muscle burning, aching pain, or discomfort.
In my experience with clients who are new to exercising this flare up is not necessarily a bad thing. It is simply the bodies reaction to something new and strenuous. As human beings we are wired to conserve our energy.
What I find happens majority of the time is as you continue training these clients by strengthening and mobilizing the right areas these flare ups gradually go away until they disappear.
Another way to think about it:
Think of flare ups like inflammation when you get an injury. It is your bodies natural reaction to a new event.
Different symptoms, but similar series of events that occur.
When you sprain an ankle, inflammation can be normal. When you start a new workout routine after years of not doing much, flare ups can be normal.
One question I always ask clients when they say "my X hurts" is
"is is pain or discomfort?" and "Does it feel like the same pain you were having before or a different type of pain?"
The feedback you get can be very important to you as the health professional.
If it is pain, maybe their form isn't exactly how it should be. Maybe you're using too much load too soon, or maybe you need to regress an exercise for the time being
If it is discomfort, take rests between your sets, do gentle movements to stay mobile and be patient.
If the pain feels different this can be a very good sign that strength is building in the right areas. If you continue down the right track the flare ups and pain should go away.
Are flare ups a bad thing?
They are not good or bad, it is just a natural reaction for many people.
What I recommend to my clients is to monitor their symptoms and see if the pain slowly goes away. If that happens it is usually a good sign.
If the pain stays around for weeks consistently or gets worse, there might be something off with your treatment plan. It would be a smart idea to reassess the injury to see if you missed anything in the beginning or something new came up along the rehab journey.
The sight of pain shouldn't be your only focus
One of the biggest tips I've learned in my years of being a personal trainer is the sight of pain is very rarely the cause of pain.
In many cases when clients have back pain it is due to limited hip mobility.
In many cases when clients have knee pain it is from weak glutes or a lack of ankle mobility.
This means that if you're having a flare up in your knee, that doesn't mean you should only be focusing on the knee joint and quads.
How to manage flare ups
I am not a big advocate for using modalities like ice or heat. Mostly because when you recommend these to people they lean heavily onto them and expect that to be what is going to help their pain. Ice and heat might help short term, but it is not a solution to any serious pain or injury.
In some cases flare ups can be pretty uncomfortable. I recommend using ice or heat only if needed and not to get carried away with it. I always remind my clients that they can definitely help but the real work and progression is done through exercise.
The best tip I can give you is to find ways to move your body that don’t trigger more pain. Even if it’s simply bending and extending your leg if you have knee pain or going for short walk if your low back hurts.
Being sedentary will increase pain, stiffness and tightness. Stay moving!
I hope this helped you and taught you something new!
If you are working through pain or an injury and run into flare ups, don't get discouraged. Remember they are temporary and normal. If you are treating your pain properly these will go away.
Keep up the hard work
Until next time,
Garrett Kendall- ACSM CPT
68925 M62 Suite D Edwardsburg, MI
269-258-3040
platinum.train1@gmail.com
