Pain Prevention

Pain can be defined as an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, actual or potential tissue damage. Thus, it’s possible to feel pain in a particular area without there being any structural alteration or injury. Similarly, structural changes can occur without any sensation of pain. Preventing this sensation is not easy, as pain is a multifactorial process dependent on numerous variables. However, certain habits can help reduce the likelihood of experiencing pain. Physical exercise is unquestionably one of the main practices to maintain throughout life. It has the ability to activate pain-inhibitory mechanisms, which is its primary effect on pain. Thus, by exercising, we are contributing to an increase in pain threshold, thereby decreasing the likelihood of experiencing it.

How much exercise should we do to ensure our health and well-being? According to the World Health Organization, an adult should engage in approximately 150 to 300 minutes of moderate physical activity or 75 to 150 minutes of intense physical activity per week. What kind of exercise should we do? Whenever I am asked this question, I answer that, based on scientific evidence, the best exercise is the one we most enjoy doing. For example, if we have lower back pain, we are not obligated to do Pilates, and if we have knee arthritis, we do not need to do hydrotherapy. We should look for an activity we like and find a health professional, such as a physiotherapist, who can help adapt it to our clinical condition. However, it is essential to remember that if we are returning to a favorite sport after some time or trying it for the first time, we should start with specific physical preparation. How can I prevent injuries? How often have we heard stories of someone trying padel for the first time, or after a short period, and suffering a calf (posterior lower leg muscle) or Achilles tendon rupture? Our body adapts to various “principles,” one of which is adaptation, meaning it adjusts according to the stimulus it receives. This principle is crucial for reducing injury risk. If we exceed what the body is accustomed to or can handle, we increase the likelihood of injury. Injury prevention involves preparing our structures, gradually increasing to a new stimulus, often by introducing the stimulus at a lower intensity. However, it is impossible to entirely prevent injuries, as they result from multifactorial processes that do not rely solely on body preparation but also on contextual factors such as sleep quality, hydration, diet, and stress factors. In short, the main solution to pain and injury prevention is the same: physical exercise. We should remain active to activate pain-inhibitory mechanisms and to prepare our bodies before introducing new stimuli, making us ready for daily and athletic demands.