Hello everyone! I have a question regarding managing training load for the day based on the pain symptoms experienced. I am going to give some information as to whats going on so this is not so vague. I have been having on and off back pain for years, but never really learned how to manage it till i found barbell medicine. Using the barbell medicine article “Pain in training what do” i was able to apply the principles there to help with managing the pain, but i still have some things i need clarity on. I have noticed that when i am going through a stressful period in my life, i tend to have all of my pain go to my lower back and hip region. The pain can be a 1-2/10 on the pain scale all the way up to a 7-8/10 at rest and with movement (Extension of my spine seems to aggravate it). How would i approach training for that day? For example, if my back pain is a 7/10 for that day prior to training, should i keep the exercises the same and just keep the RPE really low and focus on moving? Or should i change the exercise for that day as well? I will list another example of what happened. So the week before, i went through a stressful time and was in alot of pain. Had the weight the same as i did the week before that (RPE 7) and my pain went up even more after. Today, my pain in my back was like a 2-3 prior to training and i was able to squat the same like last week (RPE 7) and the symptoms were about the same as before session. Thank you and have a great day!
Since I’m in the group “everyone”, here’s my take:
When I had a related question, the best advice I received was to keep the exercises provocative but tolerable. Provocative as in it provokes a reaction - you feel it - but tolerable as in it’s not too painful and it doesn’t make things worse later. I haven’t seen any specific rules, just experiment to find something that’s in this range and that leads to a general improving trajectory. I believe this is in line with the pain in training article.
If stress is a problem, you might try meditation, relaxation techniques, breathing exercises or the like. Stress increasing pain is very much in line with the biopsychosocial model.
I hope this helps.