Pain is an inescapable consequence of physical exercise. When we exercise, we agree to a conscious, self-inflicted damage upon our bodies. However, although we all share this burden, it’s never the same experience from one athlete to the next, not even within the same sport.
So, the goal of this article is to explain 5 aspects of exercise-induced pain you probably didn’t know, and of course, we’ll be using CrossFit as a vehicle to better illustrate these notions.
But first… what is pain?
Earlier theories established a causal explanation between a mechanical strain of some sort and the experience of pain. But that failed to explain events like phantom-limb pain or athletes performing to the best of their abilities while withstanding some sort of injury.
Nowadays, pain is defined as an “unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with potential or actual tissue damage” (1979, in Roessler, 2005). Two things stick out to me: the emotional component and pain existing with or without actual tissue damage. That solves both the phantom-limb pain and the seemingly unbreakable athletes.
The subjective aspects of pain can be described on three dimensions: on a sensorial basis (“it burns”), on an affective basis (“it’s punishing”), or as a relative quality (“it’s unbearable”). The common thread between all three is that they depend entirely on individual aspects (this will be important in just a second).
1. There’s a door to pain we choose to open or not
Have you ever torn your hands in the heat of battle and it’s not until the buzzer goes off at the end of the WOD that you see the blood on your hands and it suddenly starts to hurt like hell?
Well that probably didn’t happen to Melzack but he was kind enough to come up with the most predominant theory in pain research: the gate control theory (1973). This model posits that there is a “gate” in the spinal cord that allows pain impulses to reach higher cerebral levels.
Opening the gate and letting all hell break loose ultimately depends on subjective factors like fear, concentration or awareness. So, basically pain doesn’t exist until we make it real by acknowledging it.
2. Certain situations have a differential effect on the experience
Picture two athletes performing a CrossFit Open Workout. One of them is vying for a top-20 spot worldwide to fulfill the lifelong dream of competing at the CrossFit Games; the other is doing their first Open ever. Once they hit that wall, one will keep pushing against it and the other will slow down to get rid of it. Guess who’s who.
Some authors argue that the experience of pain is a function of the meaning of the situation (Litt, 1988). If the circumstances surrounding the experience are somewhat significant for the individual (qualifying for the Games) this may result in an increase or a decrease of the perceived pain intensity.
3. Pain can be viewed as an end goal or the means
Many athletes indulge in sports as a form of self-realization. They purposefully search for their bodies’ limit out of curiosity or pure desire (Roessler, 2005). For some, looking for one’s physical limit may even become the expression of one’s identity. Pain serves as an indicator that said limitation is close, therefore it is deemed a positive sign.
For other athletes, pain is a by-product of sports. The classic “no pain, no gain” situation. The athlete believes that the only possible way of achieving their goals is through pain. Enduring incredible amounts of physical and mental beatdowns during training will prepare them for competition.
“I don’t love doing rowing intervals or max out squats. That sh*t hurts. But the day you show up and you put up the top time, that’s the feeling I chase” – Mat Fraser
Interview for CrossFit HQ
4. Perceived control is a major key
Perceived control is one of those psychological variables that loves meddling in every other process. It so happens that it does just that when it comes to dealing with pain.
Control can be defined as the belief that one has at one’s disposal a response that can influence the aversiveness of a situation (in Litt, 1988). Two types of control could be of relevance here: cognitive control, processing the information in such a way as to make a potentially threatening situation less stressful; decisional control, having the opportunity to choose among various courses of action.
Sam Briggs qualifying for the Games at the 2015 Regionals on a broken foot or Scott Panchik finishing 6th worldwide at the Games that same year with a severe case of plantar fasciitis are perfect examples of how perceived control can moderate the experience of pain.
5. Some coping strategies can help alleviate pain
If it works on mental stressors, it seemed sensible to try and test the effectiveness of some coping strategies on physical pain. If you’re looking to improve your pain tolerance, you can work two possible routes:
- Attempts to alter appraisal: this has to do with the circumstances that surround the painful event and also the meaning we give to pain itself.
For example, some people (me) have always feared pain way too much. I enjoy it, don’t get me wrong, but I was always kinda scared of going too far with it. It wasn’t after I did 1,000 burpees for time that I suddenly realized that pain is just that: pain. I’m not going to die if I run a little bit faster, or I do one more rep. My vision has changed to the point I don’t avoid it when it comes my way and somehow me being fully aware makes it more tolerable.
- Efforts to distract yourself from it: this is probably the most classic coping mechanism applied to pain. When you’re doing sprint intervals of any kind or a long, grueling chipper that never seems to end, one can use attentional devices to stray away from the painful input our body is receiving and learn to focus on, well, just about anything else.
For example, things I’ve used: counting the amount of people that are in the park (my home gym is on a terrace right above a park), counting 10 breathes before I check the monitor, counting my rest in between reps (I’m just now realizing how mind-absorbing counting is for me). Whatever works, right?
- Litt, M. D. (1988). Self-efficacy and perceived control: cognitive mediators of pain tolerance. Journal of personality and social psychology, 54(1), 149. - Melzack, R., & Wall, P. D. (1965). Pain mechanisms: a new theory. Science, 150(3699), 971-979. - Roessler, K. K. (2005). Sport and the psychology of pain. New Approaches to Sport and Exercise Psychology, 30, 83. - Ryan, E. D., & Kovacic, C. R. (1966). Pain tolerance and athletic participation. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 22(2), 383-390.