How to exercise around injuries

Many people have chronic conditions. These are pains that never fully go away but can be lessened greatly through chiropractic methods. The challenge is to still work out while you have the pain. How do you know when you can workout through the pain? Should you rest and wait?

With chronic problems it’s best to work around the pain, rather than through it. A patient of mine was working out and trying to do push ups and it was killing her wrists and shoulders. Since she was working out in the gym I told her to try the pec-deck machine and barbell bench presses. These exercises worked the same muscles as the push up, but didn’t bother her wrist or shoulders. She didn’t stop working out, she just didn’t do the exercises that hurt.

Now some would argue that the push up is a better exercise than the non-functional machines and weights. It’s not a better exercise if you get injured.

You can try the treadmill, elliptical, or exercise bike. There’s even recumbent bicycles if your back is really hurting. While all of these are good for your cardiovascular fitness, some may bother your knee or back. Simply try another exercise until you find the right one.

In certain circumstances you should just not work out at all. In cases where there is a new injury and/or there’s inflammation it would be best to take some time off.

In some cases you can workout through the pain. In these cases where there is a weakness that is the reason for instability in the spine, exercising despite pain would be appropriate. In these cases you will significantly feel better as you are exercising. You will know that it feels better because as you are gaining strength, the pain will lessen. If the pain is getting worse, you need to stop.