I am often asked about pain after exercise and whether this is normal or OK. I can categorically say it is NOT OK to experience pain after exercise though unfortunately it is very common. This pain comes from inflammation in your muscles and joints as they repair. So if you find yourself in this situation repeatedly it is almost certainly damaging in the long term.

Like all things relating to health it is hard to give blanket advice but if I were to look at 2 groups, those who are new to or returning to exercise and secondly those who are playing sport, training for an event, doing Cross fit or some extensive gym work, hopefully I can give some more focused advice.

Group 1 – New to or returning to exercise

If you have been inactive for sometime or you are returning to exercise you will need to spend time building your aerobic fitness. The main reason is that this sort of exercise will give you the health benefits that many are looking for i.e. improved cardiovascular function, reducing blood pressure and improved heart health and weight loss. If you find you have started walking and this is causing general muscle pain and stiffness you are potentially doing too much too soon and you need to build up more slowly. Ideally we should all be doing 40-60mins per day of aerobic exercise such as walking. Starting off at this level may be too much and you would be wiser to start at 20mins and work up to 40mins over a period of a few weeks so that your body has the ability to adapt to the extra load you are putting on it.

If you find that your new exercise regime is causing pain in specific locations such as your feet, knee, lower/middle back or neck, hips or your shoulder you should seek help from a professional such as a chiropractor.

Group 2 – Sports people/ Weight lifters or those training for an event

This group will have been training for sometime and hopefully have built their aerobic base already. If not they are liable to suffer from repeated injuries, low energy or will be unable to improve their times or amount they are lifting. This means that they need to go back to basics and start to build their base fitness again. 

If on the other hand you are carrying an injury through training and into competition, you are almost certainly experiencing some kind of muscle weakness and imbalance. This is often referred to in the literature as asymmetry and there has been a lot of research into the injury risk profiles of those with asymmetries being higher than those without (Wang & Cochrane, 2001).

I find that there is always some level of muscle weakness or inhibition involved in all common sports injuries from tendonitis, planter fasciitis to ligament strain, compartment syndrome and simple loss of range of motion or power. In my experience muscle weakness and imbalances are often present before injury. They may factor in the reason for injury or at the very least leave the joints and ligaments vulnerable to being injured.

Assessment of muscle strength and mobility, helps to identify muscle and nerve weakness and imbalances. Early treatment will reduce inflammation, pain and the risk of injury, making workouts more enjoyable and productive.

References

Wang H-K, Cochrane T (2001) Mobility Impairment, muscle imbalance, muscle weakness, scapular asymmetry and shoulder injury in elite volleyball athletes. J. Sports Med Phys Fitness