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Does it hurt? Stop. Stronger not Broken

Not all exercise pain means progress. Most people misread training pain and cannot distinguish adaptation from damage. Moderate training volume is enough to build muscle without the unnecessary risk.

A practitioner’s guide to exercising smart and protecting your joints for life.

Most of the clients I work with come to me at a similar stage in the pain. The injury has already complicated their lives enough that they’ve either stopped exercising altogether or they’re already deep in rehab. I know the most important part of my job is to turn down the signal of pain,  so they can get back to the field, the court, or the gym. But the most important work doesn’t happen on my table. It happens once they’re back to their lives.

One of the  question I get asked most, once they return to training, is this: “If it hurts, should I push through? Do I need to warm up more? Should I lift heavier?”

The answer is not what most people want to hear. But it’s simple: if it hurts, stop.

Pain Is Your Smoke Alarm. Don’t Pull Out the Batteries

Think of the pain signal like the smoke alarm in your home. Ignoring it  is dangerous. Ripping out the batteries to stop the noise doesn’t put out the fire.

Experiencing pain during exercise is never normal. Let’s be precise about this, because there’s an important distinction to make. Discomfort is okay. Muscle soreness is okay sometimes. But joint or ligament pain is never normal . It is a signal to stop, or at the very minimum, to modify what you’re doing. Overriding that signal makes the problem worse.

The Miles You Put on Your Body

There’s been a lot of emphasis in fitness culture on growing lean mass and muscle. And that’s a worthy goal ,  but sometimes it comes at a cost we don’t account for. Think of training like putting miles on a car. There is wear and tear. The engine matters, but so does the chassis. We have to be mindful and smart about the exercises we choose.

I know this from personal experience. I had my own love affair with heavy strength training , working in low-rep, high-load ranges for a period of time. And I saw the consequences . Pain. Injury. Time lost. It’s a humbling teacher.

 The evidence today supports a smarter approach. Medium volume, with enough reps to get close to failure, is sufficient for muscle stimulation. You don’t need to chase maximum loads to make progress. My own training now involves minimal spinal loading and a lot of unilateral work ;  training one limb at a time , so I can load the muscle without unnecessarily stressing the joint.

Instead of:

  • heavy barbell squat

  • heavy deadlift

Prioritize:

  • split squat

  • rear-foot elevated squat

  • single-leg RDL

Know What Each Joint Is Built For

Every joint in the body has a purpose. Some are designed for stability. Some are designed for mobility. When we don’t understand the difference, we’re destined to get injured.

Take the lower back as an example. The lumbar spine is built for stability , not for twisting, rotating, or aggressive stretching. Trying to make it mobile comes at a steep cost. The joint that needs to be mobile is the hip. When the hips are free to move properly, the lumbar spine can do exactly what it’s meant to do: keep you stable and safe. This one misunderstanding is behind a massive proportion of lower back injuries in the gym.

Training with this awareness , respecting what each joint is designed for , changes everything about how you move and how long you can keep moving.

Joint Primary Need

  • Ankle- Mobility
  • Knee- Stability
  • Hip- Mobility
  • Lumbar Spine- Stability
  • Thoracic Spine- Mobility
  • Scapula- Stability
  • Gleno Humeral- Mobility

Loss of Function in the Joint

  • Loose ankle mobility get knee pain
  • Loose hip mobility get lower back pain
  • Loose thoracic mobility get neck and shoulder pain

When Acute Back Pain Strikes: Walk it out, don’t stretch                                                                        

If you find yourself in acute pain ,  a sharp lower back episode , the instinct for many people is to stretch it out, or try to “work it loose.” Please don’t. Stop.

And when you’re ready to move again, the single best exercise available to you is also the most underrated one: walking. The evidence is strong , people who walk after acute lower back pain recover significantly faster than those in controlled rest groups. Why? Because walking is an alternating, unilateral movement. Each step gently engages opposite sides of the body, naturally stabilizes the core, and promotes circulation without loading the spine.

The Bottom Line

Longevity in fitness isn’t about how hard you train. It’s about how smart you train. Choose exercises that load your muscles without abusing your joints. Understand the difference between discomfort and pain. Respect what your body is telling you. And when something hurts  stop, and give it the attention it deserves.

Soledad Duffy L.Ac

Hi!! I’m so glad you are here!

Living with scoliosis forces me to think about the spine as something to manage daily, not just fix when it hurts. I prioritize training that minimizes spinal load while prioritizing  mobility  in the hips and shoulders, because a stiff joint above or below the spine inevitably makes the spine compensate. My view on “spine hygiene” is simple: build strength through positions you can control, earn range of motion  and let the spine stabilize rather than move excessively. If you want a compact master-class perspective on back pain, take the time to read this article.

BIG LESSONS I LEARNED ABOUT BACK PAIN FROM DR STUART MCGILL

The best exercise is the one that creates the largest effect with the minimal risk to the joints – Stuart Mc Gill-