Pain relief can feel like a victory. However, the absence of pain doesn’t always signal that your body has fully healed or that you’re out of the woods. As a chiropractor, I frequently see patients at this crucial crossroads. Now that your pain is gone, does that mean you can return to normal activities? Is it time to stop the boring rehab exercises or do you still have the press on with your recovery efforts?
Understanding what to do when your pain subsides is essential for long-term musculoskeletal health and to prevent future pain episodes. Today, we will discuss the key considerations to help you make an informed decision.
Is your pain better because of the passage of time or is your body actually in a better state?
When pain improves, it’s natural to assume your body has healed. However, this isn’t always the case. Pain often diminishes simply due to the passage of time. You can think of it as regression to the mean. What goes up must come down. Acute pain episodes, especially those that are extremely painful, then to feel better after a few days. Even without treatment and without addressing underlying issues, it almost always improve itself!
Pain medication and rest can also provide temporary relief. Rest allows irritated to settle and it also gives time for inflammation to clear. While it seems like a positive sign of recovery, it doesn’t necessarily mean your body is getting better.
If the issues like sedentary lifestyle, muscle weakness, poor movement patterns, excessive joint stiffness, etc remain unaddressed, you are just as susceptible to another pain episode. It is just a matter of time.
Use more objective measures to collaborate with how you feel
The most important question is to ask if anything has fundamentally changed about your body. If your body is the same today as it has been when your pain was still more painful, it’s probably just subsiding with time.
It is recommended to seek active treatment when your pain is less or absent. This is a golden window where you can do more exertional and advanced exercises without aggravating your symptoms. It is also a good opportunity to work on your physical health and reduce the risk of future pain episodes.
Don’t mistake temporary relief for true recovery.
Have you been putting in the hard work?
If you’ve been consistently performing recovery-specific exercises and your pain has improved, there’s a much higher chance that your body is genuinely in a better condition. Exercise-based recovery typically produces measurable improvements in:
- Strength
- Flexibility and range of motion
- Joint mobility and joint stability
- Body composition (e.g., muscle mass, body fat percentage)
- Cardiovascular fitness
These tangible changes are indications that your body has adapted positively to the demands you’ve placed upon it. When pain subsides in this context, you can be more confident that the improvement reflects genuine physical progress.
However, the critical question remains: have you done enough work to prevent future pain episodes? If you feel you haven’t yet built sufficient resilience, continue pushing forward with your recovery programme.
If you believe you’ve made substantial progress, you can take a well-deserved breather whilst transitioning to regular physical activity.
Health Promotion Board Physical Activity Guidelines recommend a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise weekly, plus two days of muscle-strengthening activities. Following these guidelines will help maintain your improvements and support long-term musculoskeletal health.
Managing persistent niggles during recovery
Sometimes small niggles are signs that there is something more serious going on. If that is the case, you should definitely consult with a chiropractor to get it assessed. It is easier to nip muscle and joint issues in the bud. When they do get significantly more painful, the amount of exercises you can do for treatment of chronic pain does reduce.
Most of the time, some niggling pain and discomfort is a normal part of the recovery process. Understanding why this occurs can help alleviate concerns and keep you motivated.
Certain conditions, such as knee instability or chronic joint dysfunction, require extended rehabilitation periods. During this time, you may still experience intermittent symptoms as your body continues adapting to new movement patterns and building strength.
These symptoms typically last for a few seconds to minutes and is usually nothing to worry about. Again, it’s best to check with your chiropractor to be sure.
You can think of niggling discomfort as your body’s work in progress. As you perform the right exercises consistently, affected areas become more robust and stable. You would start to feel significantly better. However, there could be some areas that just need a little more work or more time. As long as you keep up with you recovery efforts, they will continue to subside and eventually resolve for good.
Don’t slack off on exercise! Please!
Pain serves as a powerful motivator for taking action. But what happens when the pain and discomfort improves? Will you be tempted to reduce or even completely stop the exercises that have been working well for you?
This is one of the biggest challenges in attaining good long-term recovery outcomes.
If your current approach is working, please keep going! By working, I don’t mean just pain relief. You have to see improvements in aspects of your physical health. I don’t condone going for temporary pain relief treatments like chiropractic adjustments over and over again, for the rest of your life.
I get that these treatments can feel good. But they are not a permanent solution for your pain. When it comes to neck pain, it gets more complex because of the small, but very real risk, of stroke. As much as spinal manipulation is extremely safe, they are not perfectly safe. There is a difference.
Remember, the goal shouldn’t be just pain relief. it’s building a more resilient, capable body that can handle life’s physical demands without breaking down.
Avoiding the Return to Bad Habits
We all have inherent movement preferences and exercise biases that feel natural to us. Unfortunately, these aren’t always optimal for our musculoskeletal health.
During a recent calisthenics class at Project Rally, my trainer Lucas observed that I needed to work on my fast-twitch muscle fibres more.
Why?
Because I avoid explosive movements like those often seen in HYROX. Even when asked to do faster, I stubbornly refuse to. It’s just so unnatural for me, you know. I am just not the type to enjoy the rah rah sort of exercises.
When I mentioned this was more of a personality preference, Lucas agreed. He could see how my training style matched my general demeanour. It’s more laid back and measured rather than explosive. The exercise-personality fit does matter!
Thankfully, my exercise biases don’t negatively impact my daily function or exercise routine.
Movement pattern and exercise techniques can sabotage your progress
You have your preferred way to move and your preferred way to approach an exercise. If they don’t negative affect your exercises, that’s not a problem. If they do, you need to keep them in check.
Sloppy movements, for example, are never okay. While I can be very laid back, I don’t move that way when I exercise. Being too relaxed can lead to too many unnecessary movements. It is definitely going to cause technique issues because of poor control. It’s a no go.
Without keeping (negative) movement biases in check, they can easily develop into bad habits. Bad habits become increasingly difficult to correct once ingrained. Incorrect technique won’t do you any good in the long run. Not only will you not see the results you are hoping for, poor form can lead to injury or exacerbate existing issues. This is more regression rather than progression.
Exercise is indeed a double-edged sword. When performed correctly with appropriate progression, the benefits are substantial. When done incorrectly, you risk worsening your condition and sustaining new injuries.
Don’t avoid the difficult exercises
Of course you should train safely, and yes I do want you to train safely. But you shall not avoid all the difficult exercises!
Let’s say low back pain. It may make sense for you to do go for a pilates class and train with the reformer or do some supermans at home. But that’s definitely not all the exercises you should be doing. To build a robust body, you will need a wide range of exercise stimuli. Just doing a single type of exercise alone will not make you very resilient.
On the other end of the spectrum, we have exercises like the Jefferson Curl. It looks scary but it’s probably one of the best exercises to train spinal flexion. Just because it looks scary doesn’t mean it’s bad for you though! What is most important is trying safely and going for a variety of exercises.
Having an action plan
When your pain improves during recovery, use this checklist to guide your next steps:
- Assess the reason for improvement: Is it due to time and rest, or genuine physical adaptation through exercise?
- Evaluate your exercise consistency: Have you been performing recovery-specific exercises regularly and with proper technique?
- Measure tangible changes: Can you identify improvements in strength, flexibility, or movement quality?
- Plan for progression: If you’ve made good progress, how will you continue challenging your body appropriately?
- Maintain vigilance: Are you maintaining good movement patterns and avoiding old habits that contributed to your initial problem?
- Seek professional guidance: Consider working with a chiropractor to ensure you’re on the right track.
Pain relief during recovery is encouraging, but it shouldn’t signal the end of your rehabilitation journey. By maintaining consistent, progressive exercise habits and avoiding the temptation to return to old patterns, you’ll build a more resilient body.
Always remember that true recovery isn’t just about eliminating pain. It’s about creating lasting positive change in your lifestyle that will inevitably benefit your physical health.
If you’re unsure about your recovery progress or need guidance on appropriate exercises for your specific situation, don’t hesitate to consult with a chiropractor. Your future self will thank you for the investment in proper rehabilitation.
BOOK A CHIROPRACTOR IN SINGAPORE
Based in Singapore, Square One Active Recovery offers treatments with a very big difference. With our evidence-based exercise approach, you can achieve your recovery goals in just 12 weeks. Not getting results from your chiropractor, TCM doctor or physiotherapist? Talk to us and find out how we can take your recovery to the next level.
Our goal? To make our own services redundant to you.
*We do not offer temporary pain relief such as chiropractic adjustments, dry needling, or any form of soft tissue therapy.
