Pain - Your Body is Speaking but It May Not Be Saying Stop

Pain...we all feel it. For those of us over 40 we may feel it a bit more regularly than we did only a few years ago in our late 30s. A friend of mine told me that everything changes after 40. For me, that was all too true as I have explained in previous posts (back failure, teeth falling out of my head, and easy weight gain/difficult weight loss). After the onslaught of a few emergency-room-worthy experiences, and since attempting to remain active, I have had to take much more detailed evaluations of how my body reacts to the exercise I put it through. Before I made health and fitness an important goal in my life these evaluations were much too brief and shallow. What often resulted from not being very thorough was consistent and sometimes increasing pain. Pain made for a great excuse to stop going to the gym in favor of resting on the couch and taking the directed maximum amount of Anacin every day until the affected area was completely healed. In many cases it would take days before I would stop feeling any pain. Over the course of my recovery period my motivation to get back into the fitness groove became elusive.

Let me say that while laziness was about 80-85% of the reason I had trouble getting into a routine and sticking with it I was also VERY SCARED of having another disc explode in my back. I didn't like gaining weight, but I let fear inhibit me from doing what I needed to do to help my body recover from the trauma it experienced. At the time I didn't realize that there were many ways to exercise that didn't require lifting weights at the gym. Unfortunately, I wasn't ready to adjust my routine according to what my body was telling me. When enough was enough I finally decided to seek out something physical that was fun.

Online I had read a few testimonials about the benefits of stand up paddling for the back which helped rev my enthusiasm for the sport. When I first got into the sport I felt pain in my back. Rather than give up immediately I decided to investigate the areas of my back that were hurting and see what could be done about doing away with the pain without doing away with the sport. My symptoms were easily remedied when I closely examined what was happening inside my body, what I was doing to help and/or hurt it, and what could be done about making things right. I wondered: am I going too hard too fast? (Yes, I was  even though it was hard to tell because people were always so far ahead of me.) Am I using the wrong form? (Yes, and I still do to this day but it is getting better.) Is this bad for my back? (Yes and no are the correct answers, of which this information is based solely on my own data and observations and I am not a scientist, even though I am pretty smart at times.) My grandfather was a scientist so that must count for something...

The pain I felt from paddling instilled in me a fear that I would have to stop this sport and find something else as an outlet. I had already given up wakeboarding followed by skatebaording so fear was in full effect at the possibility of having to give up a sport that is very soothing and relaxing and one my mom could do. I did not want to give up stand up paddling so I did more research on WebMD, did Google searches for stand up paddling and back pain, then imagined what I would look like doing water aerobics with the ladies at William Hill Manor.

Most articles I found were all positive saying stand up paddling was very beneficial to those with lower back issues. My fears subsided but I have not always been a big fan of Google searches for trustworthy information but what else was I going to do? I had no plans to truck up to Johns Hopkins or Northwestern and hit up their medical libraries. I had to sift through and trust the information I deemed as most useful. One article stated that SUP is excellent for the back and the pain you feel in the early stages is from new muscles being exercised in a new way. Also, I watched videos on Youtube about improving my stroke using proper technique. Neil gave me the best piece of advice when he said that I should be able to flutter my fingers at any time while paddling. Not squeezing the paddle hard always makes for a more comfortable glide. I felt better. The information provided made sense. I decided to continue paddling and keep evaluating the effect it had on my back.

Over time the back pain went away completely. I decided to up the ante and entered the SEA Paddle NYC race. As soon as I sent away my entry fee and started raising money I began to have major pain issues in both shoulders. Luckily, this is when I had begun to study Dr. Maffetone's "The Big Book of Endurance Racing and Training." I skimmed to a section that dealt with sports injuries. This is when I properly learned how to do a thorough evaluation of everything that was going on when I started to have issues. Not only did I analyze my physical regimen but I also took note of everything else that I was doing, including eating, resting, drinking sleeping, and all other aspects of day to day living.

At this time in my training I had: bought a new paddle with a bigger blade and a shaft with a smaller diameter, started using synthetic proteins in shakes, begun Thai massage, and done away with all alcohol. In terms of the paddle, I was now squeezing too hard with my bottom hand to get the grip I liked and I was pushing much more water than I was used to with a bigger blade. Obviously these factors would increase stress on the shoulders. I added tennis grips and cut the blade down from 8.5" to 8". I cut out the protein shakes and got my protein from real food. I cut out stretching all together and (very hesitantly) went with Dr. Maffetone's idea of long warm ups and cool downs. I did continue to stay off the alcohol in the time leading up to the race.

After taking a detailed survey and applying some fixes I was healed well before the race. I barely had to take any time off from training. I also learned that I wasn't getting enough fat in my diet so I added avocados to all breakfast meals. Time off was necessary so I took two days off and just walked. When I got back on the water I trained at a very low heart rate so my body was never stressed and could continue to work on healing itself. I did not go to the doctor. I listened to my body and made adjustments.

Adjustments are not always easy to incorporate into a routine. Change is difficult for some. Do you think I enjoyed walking instead of running? Paddling at a low heart rate required incredible discipline. Sea nettles were moving faster than I was! At the time the adjustments made everything suck but for the long term the discipline paid off and I was able to paddle at full strength when the time came to go around Manhattan. Even though I did take some Anacin to help with the pain, I did heal myself by evaluating all the details in my life and applying changes that favored lower-stress activities and various recovery methods and let me just say ice baths are NOT FUN but they work! I will do a whole post on the beauty of ice instead of heat.

Over the last couple of days I have had to listen to my body again. Some pain crept into my back on the lower right side. I probably got too excited about the new changes in my life so I hit it way too hard and way too often at the gym. I added some new exercises to my routine but I think the biggest contributors to my pain are an old pair of boots that are very heavy and make me walk with a different stride. Also, I have not been out on the water since I got back form the Carolina Cup. Obviously some changes need to be made but stopping exercising would be disastrous. If the weather would get warmer that would help me out a lot but what can I do? I will make some changes and adjust to the weather and my surroundings because I will NOT lose momentum this winter! One thing I could do is man the F^@$ up and put on some wool with my wetsuit and go for a paddle. People are surfing on Lake Michigan right now so I have no excuse, except a big fear of falling in cold cold water.

The biggest thing I have learned is that pain does not always mean STOP. It definitely could mean stop but it just might mean ADJUST. I will suggest that if you feel sharp pain in the middle of movement then the pain stops when you stop then I would take this to be a pain that needs immediate rest and/or attention. But if pain is just there, kind of along for the ride, and your breathing doesn't change when you move you can still exercise but you should adjust and lighten your workout. Another good rule of thumb is that if you are in pain go for a walk, a long stress free walk. When it comes to the pain of being sick the best thing I read is that if the symptoms are above the neck you can still work out but if you have any symptoms below the neck ease off completely and rest.

Listen closely to your body and don't always reach for the Tylenol or Advil. A good walk is just as good if not better than a couple of anti-flammatory drugs manufactured by somebody who does not have an exact idea of what you are going through. You know what you are going through and you can probably make the proper adjustments to make the situation better.  One thing I did was make my own evaluations and prescribed remedies then discussed them with a family friend who was a doctor. When I gained confidence in my own diagnoses I no longer needed to fact check with a doctor. My fact checker was my body saying yes, that's good or no, that's bad. More often than not, after taking care of my own body's needs myself, I can get back to the gym and get back to feeling healthy and fit.