Pushing through the pain

So I keep seeing on the 12WBT forums people (myself included) asking about all kinds of pain. Foot pain, knee pain, ankle pain, back pain, muscle pain, shin pain, etc. So many people say to 'push through the pain' but at what point do we actually stop and say "hang on, this just doesn't feel right"? 

Pain is my middle name. I'm the queen of pain. I have a bad back, a bad ankle, a bad knee, flat feet, and a manky shoulder, and every day I find myself having to put up with some kind of pain. I have lengthy conversations with my 89 year old Nanna about which anti-inflams are best and what the best thing is to rub into aches and pains (by the way, it's called Rapidgel, and technically its only for dogs and horses but it is amazing and you get it from the pet store). I'm 22, it's just not right! I have learnt the hard way what kind of pain I should push through and what kind of pain I shouldn't.

For years I pushed through pain as a swimmer, mostly your regular aches and sore muscles, period pain, headaches, the usual. Then I took up field hockey. I started to push through every hard hit, twisted ankle, broken knuckle, and torn muscle. I even tried to push through a broken knee cap when I was 15, but simple biomechanics made that choice for me in the end. My first lesson should have come when I was 16 and badly twisted my ankle playing touch football in PE, mildly tearing both a ligament and tendon. But a visiting hockey team from England was coming in 4 weeks time, so I couldn't stay off it for the 8 weeks my doctor recommended. Game day came and I strapped my ankle within an inch of its life and played anyway. "Footy players do it all the time" I told myself. It hurt but I kept going, played a full game and a great one at that. My ankle however, was worse than ever, black and blue and swollen like a grapefruit, and now covered in a hideous rash since I am allergic to strapping tape adhesive. It still hurt 16 weeks after the original injury.

At the following season, I did it again. This is a couple of weeks after the incident of the broken knuckle, which I kept playing with. This time I listened, but only because my parents refused to drive me to the games unless my stick bag, shoes, and uniform were prominently displayed as being not in the car. The minute those 8 weeks were up, I was back on the field even though it still hurt badly, because I was always told to "push through the pain."

I managed to go incident free until my second year of university while playing for UQ. I tore my vastus intermedius muscle, which is the deep lying muscle in the quadriceps. I managed to do it up very high near the attachment point, and my physiotherapist was impressed but not able to do much for me. This time I rested, but once again it was because I was in so much pain that the choice was made for me.

Then it came time for my now husband, then boyfriend, to go to Kapooka. I joined a 24hr gym, and would go for sometimes 3 hours a night. I couldn't sleep at night so I would just hit the treadmill hard and try and lose myself in the repetition. I would even go after game day and training. Then my legs started to hurt. At first it was my ankle and I thought it was just old ghosts coming to haunt me, but then it spread, then it was both legs. I pushed through it, no pain no gain, and kept pushing, and pushing like a woman in labour. Then came the night at training where I collapsed while running because my legs just gave way.

My doctor referred me to a musculoskeletal therapist, who immediately ordered bone scans, rest, and acupuncture. By this point I could barely stand the walk from Central station in Brisbane to my office in Cathedral square. Less than 1km. When my bone scans came back, my doctor said that of all his 40+ years treating injuries, he had never seen shin splints like mine. I was ordered to 2-4 months rest, I wasn't even allowed to do more than walk to my office, and around the shops. Finally my wake up call had arrived. At the end of my rest period, I was still in pain, and still am when I run to this day.

Sometimes pain is weakness. Sometimes you should push through it. But if any of the words you use to describe it include: stabbing, throbbing, burning, pulsating, or shock-like, stop and book in to your GP, chiropractor, physiotherapist, or podiatrist.

The bottom line is, if the pain is unusual, or unnatural, STOP.

xx