No Pain, No Gain?

Back in 1982 (yes, I was alive) when Jane Fonda starting spouting this saying in her workout videos, it was meant to encourage women to get past the initial muscle pain you feel when you begin a workout regimen. I highly doubt she had any idea that it would last in our collective conscience for as long as it has. Nor did she know that we would use it to punish ourselves for not feeling pain to heal.

Sadly, the saying has been adapted and used by many folks worldwide to promote the feeling of “if you aren’t in pain, you aren’t doing yourself any good” or worse “if you aren’t in pain, you aren’t succeeding at your goal.”

I agree that when you start a workout regimen, you’re going to feel some pain along the way. Muscles get in the rhythm of the life you’ve set out for them (sedentary, sitting at a desk, etc.) Just like anyone who’s attempting to change a habit, muscles sometimes go kicking and screaming into the new world you’re introducing them to. We all know that once you get on the regimen and continue, the muscles get a “new normal” and you’re set. The only time you feel that familiar pain is when you up the ante by increasing weight or reps or days you go to the gym. You also start to notice that you have developed a good tolerance for that pain and your endurance is increased.

Now, I’d like to address this sentiment when it comes to healing and trauma. Imagine you’re at a funeral and you walk up to the person that is mourning their dead loved one and you whisper…”no pain, no gain.” After you get slapped or punched by those around, you might wake up to realize that you’ve made a huge blunder. Or at the scene of a vehicular accident, the EMT walks up to the person who is bleeding and in shock and says…”no pain, no gain.” The sentiment does not apply to all pain. So why do we use it and apply it to ourselves in almost every situation in life?

Some say (and I agree) that we can gain from the emotional pain of trauma due to the growth and clarity you find in the aftermath of the situation. (Hello, gratitude journal.) Further, we’ll most certainly gain clarity on never touching a hot stove after we get burned. The divine clarity received after having a broken heart will never be forgotten. You get the picture I’m painting here, yes?

I ask the question though, why are we okay with accepting that we must have pain to get over physical trauma in our bodies? I see folks in my bodywork business daily that tell me “you can’t hurt me” when I simply ask them what kind of pressure they prefer in their massage. Inside my own head I say…”well, actually I could if I wanted to.” But why on earth would I want to? Especially since I’m the myofascial release professional and I know that digging my fingers, forearm, and/or elbow into something that is already traumatized in your body is only going to make it worse. Further, if you’ve been getting massage and having them essentially slowly punch you via a finger, forearm or elbow and you still feel poorly in those areas, (and most of the time, the situation has gotten worse) why in the name of everything sacred and holy would you continue to do the same thing repeatedly? It’s clearly not working. Guess they need to insert more elbow and forearm? NO! This isn’t a situation of “needs more cowbell.”

Let me ask you this instead. Would you continue to go to a restaurant that gave you spoiled, overcooked or bland food? Would you not send it back or never go back there again? So why then are you settling for the exact same thing repeatedly to get no results? Sure, you might feel better for a day or two but then you’re right back to feeling tight, stiff, hurt, or your chronic pain is still lingering and poking you like a rude jerk at the bar.

NERD ALERT! Science side note coming at you in three, two, one….Your body contains this beautiful organ that is called the fascia. It covers, envelops, and runs through your entire body down to every cell organism. It’s a wonderful network that does tremendous things for our bodies. The fascia is a fickle mistress though. It wants to be taken care of with gentle, sustained pressure when it has a problem. When you get a restriction in your fascia, it tightens down. To the tune of 2,000 pounds per square inch.

Now, I’m not sure if you can picture what 2,000 pounds looks like so let me help you. You know when you’re driving through the country, and you come across a field of cows and bulls? You think to yourself, goodness that bull is huge! Well, he is. Most bulls on average weigh around 2,000 pounds. So, if you then imagine the weight of that big boy squished into a square inch and place it on your body at any given point and imagine that force of pull it would create, you can imagine why you feel the pain you do.

Further, your fascia is like a huge sweater. When you pull on one string, it pulls somewhere else in your body. Therefore, when you have pain in a certain area, it doesn’t always mean that’s where your fascial restriction is located.

Here’s the not so awesome fact. If the fascia is pressed upon with a finger, elbow, or forearm with too much pressure, it just doubles down. Your fascia is like the gambling addict that can’t quit the table. It doubles down in the face of danger or trauma. In this case, the danger and trauma are someone’s elbow or finger. Therefore, that’s why the relief you feel is temporary. Because after the appointment and you get back home and you’ve lived life for a bit, the fascia has time to wake back up and realize it’s been poked and needlessly prodded.

The truth is bodywork therapy should never cause you severe pain. Nor should it cause bruises. In any other instance you’d be calling social services to remove the person from the situation. But you actually paid to have someone inflict enough bodily harm to cause bruises in the name of therapy. And now you look as if you had a fight with that rude jerk in the bar. Your chronic pain issue does not want you to get bruises at any point in the process of healing.

Let me say that again for those in the back…your chronic pain issue does not want you to get bruises at any point in the process of healing.

I had someone in my office just this week that had the bruises of an NFL lineman on the back of her leg. I asked what happened to her. She simply stated that it was from her chiropractor. Ummmm…what?!?! This is a woman that is suffering with chronic pain in several areas of her body. And the chiropractor inserted enough pressure on the back of her leg (top of her calf almost at the knee bend) to create a bruise that was roughly 3 inches by 5 inches. And he called it “fascial work.” I can’t describe the amount of anger I felt at hearing this statement. Tears sprang to my eyes. For one, that’s not how fascial work is done, and he’d know that if he was properly trained. Two, you should never have bruises from body work. Do we see a pattern in the thought process here?

I’m not saying to not have firm pressure in your massage. By all means, firm pressure is good and is actually relaxing when done right. Muscles feel good when they are rubbed firmly and sometimes vigorously. I’m also not disparaging the usefulness and necessity of a good sports massage. An elbow in your glutes (or elsewhere) can be therapeutic if done correctly.

What I am saying is that if you’ve had the same massage with an elbow in your glutes at every turn and you’re wondering to yourself…is this for the rest of my life? You might need to or want to examine an alternative to the firm pressure, elbow in your glutes kind of massage.

If you suffer from chronic pain or mystery pain, a different modality is certainly for you. The gentle sustained pressure of accurate myofascial release is highly beneficial to every single body. Even those that like an elbow in the glute. 😊 I know…enough with the elbow in the glute comments. Okay, I’m done. Promise. Maybe.

Demand better service and better therapy for your body that is already in pain. Say no to someone that does something to cause bruises. It isn’t therapeutic. Slowing down and allowing someone to rest their hands on you with gentle sustained pressure does wonders. Get your mind around the fact that a massage doesn’t have to be firm, gliding strokes to be what your body needs. Sometimes, that’s the exact opposite of what it needs.

I hope this article has been somewhat useful to you. If you feel like Myofascial Release Therapy is something you want to or need to try, give me a shout.

If you’re not in my area and are looking for someone that is certified in Myofascial Release Therapy, there is a directory here: www.mfrtherapists.com